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Cocoa  and  Chocolate 


A  short  history  of  their 
production  and  use 


edition 


With  numerous  illustrations  of  the  Cocoa  Tree  and  its  products ;  and  of  Walter 

Baker  &  Co.'s  manufactory,  the  oldest  and  largest  establishment 

of  its  kind  on  this  continent 


DORCHESTER,  MASS. 

Walter  Baker  &  Co.  Limited 
1907 


Copyright,  iqoj, 
BY  WALTER  BAKER  &  COMPANY  LTD. 


The  Barta  Press,  Boston 


SB 


PREFATORY   NOTE. 

.  KJ  0  '/ 


THIS  publication  is  made  up  in  part  of  original  matter  and  in  part 
of  matter  reprinted  from  three  of  our  previous  publications,  now 
out  of  print,  namely  :   "  Cocoa  and  Chocolate  :   A  Short  History 
of  Their  Production  and  Use,"  —  a  i2mo  of  152  pages,  published  in 
1886;   "The  Chocolate  Plant  and  Its  Products,"  —  a  small  410  of  40 
pages,  published  in  1891  ;   and  "Cocoa  and  Chocolate:  A  Short  His- 
tory of  Their  Production  and  Use,"  a  quarto  of  72  pages,  first  printed 
in  1899  and  reprinted  in  1901  and  1904.      Copies  of  them  can  be  found 
in  many  of  the  public  and  school  libraries  in  the  United  States. 

We  have  included  in  this  work  some  new  views  of  our  mills  and 
workrooms,  and  also  some  engravings  from  photographs  taken  in  the 
West  Indies  and  in  Ceylon,  showing  the  present  methods  of  gathering 
and  curing  the  fruit  of  the  cocoa  tree. 

As  even  the  standard  dictionaries  fail  to  give  the  exact  meanings  of 
the  words  "  cocoa"  and  "  chocolate,"  we  give  here  an  accurate  defini- 
tion of  those  terms  :  — 

COCOA.  —  The  commercial  name  given  (i)  to  the  seeds  of  the  small  tropical 
tree  known  to  botanists  as  Theobroma  Cacao ;  (2)  to  the  cracked  or  coarsely 
ground  product  of  the  roasted  seeds,  sometimes  designated  more  particularly  as 
"cocoa  nibs,"  or  "cracked  cocoa  "  ;  (3)  to  the  finely  pulverized  product  of  the 
roasted  seeds  from  which  a  portion  of  the  fat  has  been  removed,  sometimes  des- 
ignated as  "  breakfast  cocoa  "  or  "  powdered  cocoa." 

CHOCOLATE.  —  (i)  The  solid  or  plastic  mass  produced  by  grinding  to  fineness 
the  kernel  of  the  roasted  seeds  of  Theobroma  Cacao  without  removing  any  of  the 
fat,  sometimes  called  "  plain  chocolate  "  or  "  bitter  chocolate  "  ;  (2)  the  same 
product  to  which  have  been  added  sugar  and  various  flavoring  substances,  some- 
times known  as  "  sweet  chocolate  "  or  "  vanilla  chocolate." 

WALTER  BAKER  &  CO.  LTD. 


REGISTERED   U.    S.    PATENT   OFFICE. 
WALTER  BAKER  &  CO.  LTD. 

[Copied  from  Liocard's  famous  fainting  of  "  La  Belle 
in  Hie  Dresden  Gallery^ 


COGOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 


i. 

PRODUCTION  AND  CONSUMPTION. 

DURING  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  consumption  of  cocoa  in 
various  forms  has  increased  to  an  extraordinary  extent  not 
only  in  this  country,  but  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  Germany 
—  countries  in  which  the  greatest  progress  is  being  made  in  the  science 
of  nutrition,  and  in  the  inventions  which  have  done  so  much  to  cheapen 
the  cost  and  improve  the  quality  of  articles  of  food.  This  increase  in 
consumption  is  due  to  several  causes,  among  the  most  prominent  of 
which  are  (i)  a  reduction  in  the  retail  price,  bringing  it  within  the 
means  of  the  poorer  classes;  (2)  a  more  general  recognition  of  the 
value  of  cocoa  as  an  article  of  food,  and  (3)  improvements  in  methods 
of  preparation,  by  which  it  is  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  different 
classes  of  consumers. 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  monopoly  of  the 
production  which  Spain  long  possessed,  and  which  kept  the  price,  on 
its  introduction  into  England,  at  a  point  where  only  the  rich  could 
afford  to  buy  it,  cocoa  would  have  come  into  as  general  use  there  as  it 
did  in  Spain,  and  would,  perhaps,  have  been  received  with  more  favor 
than  tea  or  coffee,  which  were  introduced  about  the  same  time. 

It  appears  that,  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.,  the  price  of  the  best 
chocolate  (very  crude  undoubtedly,  as  compared  with  the  present 
manufactures)  was  6s.  8d.  a  pound,  which,  if  we  take  into  account  the 
greater  purchasing  power  of  money  at  that  time,  would  be  equal  to  at 
least  $5.00  a  pound  at  this  time  for  a  very  coarse  article. 

Ilumboldt  estimated  the  consumption  of  cocoa  in  Europe,  in  1806, 
as  23,000,000  pounds  per  annum,  of  which  from  6, 000,000  to  9,000,000 
were  supposed  to  be  consumed  in  Spain.  The  estimated  consumption 
in  Europe  at  the  present  time  is  over  170,000,000  pounds. 

7 


g  COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 

A  recent  estimate  of  the  total  amount  of  crude  cocoa  exported  from 
the  tropical  regions  in  which  it  is  grown,  based  partly  on  official  figures 
and  partly  on  expert  estimates,  is  about  300,000,000  pounds  per  annum. 
In  the  report  of  the  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Statistics  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1906,  the  principal  importations  of  crude  cocoa  into 
this  country  are  given  as  follows:  British  West  Indies,  25,933,087 
pounds;  other  West  Indies,  10,389,576;  Brazil,  12,064,302;  other 
South  American  countries  of  which  Ecuador,  next  to  Brazil,  furnishes 
the  largest  supply,  18,028,265  ;  Europe,  principally  from  the  Portu- 
guese island  of  San  Thome  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa,  12,794,055. 

In  the  United  Kingdom  the  amount  consumed  in  1831  was  only  %  of 
an  ounce  for  each  inhabitant.  In  1902  it  had  risen  to  about  17  ounces; 
that  is,  about  45,500,000  pounds.  The  percentage  of  increase  since 
1860  has  been  much  greater  than  that  of  tea  or  coffee.  In  that  year 
the  consumption  of  tea  was  2.67  pounds  for  each  inhabitant:  of  coffee, 
1.23  pounds;  of  cocoa,  2  ounces.  In  1903,  the  consumption  of  tea 
was  6.03  pounds  for  each  inhabitant;  of  coffee,  only  12  ounces:  of 
cocoa,  about  17  ounces.  It  appears  from  this  that  in  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  cocoa  is  actually  taking  the  place  of  coffee,  the  per  capita  use 
of  the  former  having  increased  about  750  per  cent.,  while  the  per 
capita  use  of  the  latter  has  greatly  decreased. 

In  the  United  States  the  increased  consumption  of  cocoa  in  recent 
years  has  been  even  more  striking.  The  amount  retained  for  home 
consumption  in  1860  was  only  1,181,054  pounds,  or  %  of  an  ounce  for 
each  inhabitant.  The  average  annual  consumption  for  the  three  years, 
1904,  1905,  and  1906,  amounted  to  73,034,272  pounds.  1  This  shows 
an  increase  greatly  in  excess  of  the  increase  during  the  same 
period  in  the  consumption  of  coffee  and  tea.  In  1860,  the  consump- 
tion of  coffee  per  capita  was  5.79  pounds;  in  1906  it  was  about  n 
pounds.  The  consumption  of  tea  in  1860  was  about  13^  ounces  per 
capita;  in  1903  it  was  about  17  ounces.  The  consumption  of  cocoa 

1  These  are  the  Custom  House  returns  for  the  year  ending  June  30. 


PRODUCTION  AND  CONSUMPTION.  9 

had  risen  during  the  same  period  from  %  of  an  ounce  to  over  14  ounces 
per  capita. 

Statements  in  the  press  and  in  the  reports  of  the  Pure  Food  Commis- 
sioners show  that  there  are  on  the  market  at  this  time  many  cocoas  and 
chocolates  which  have  been  treated  with  adulterants,  more  or  less  in- 
jurious to  health,  for  the  purpose  of  cheapening  the  cost  and  giving  a 
fictitious  appearance  of  richness  and  strength.  The  safest  course  for 
consumers,  therefore,  is  to  buy  goods  bearing  the  name  and  trade- 
mark of  a  well-known  and  reputable  manufacturer,  and  to  make  sure 
by  a  careful  examination  that  they  are  getting  what  they  order. 

Walter  Baker  &  Co.'s  cocoa  and  chocolate  preparations  are  abso- 
lutely pure,  free  from  coloring  matter,  chemical  solvents,  or  adulter- 
ants of  any  kind,  and  are  therefore  in  full  conformity  to  the  require- 
ments of  all  National  and  State  Pure  Food  Laws. 


WALTER  BAKER  &  Co.'s  REGISTERED  GUARANTEE  UNDER 
NATIONAL  PURE  FOOD  LAWS  Is  SERIAL  No.  90. 


II. 

THE  COCOA  TREE  AND  ITS  FRUIT. 
("  Thcobroma  Cacao."} 

THE  term  "  cocoa  "  is  a  corruption  of  "  cacao,"  but  is  almost  uni- 
versally used  in  English-speaking  countries.      The  cacao  tree 
belongs  to  the  natural  order  of  Sterculiacene,  —  a  family  of  about 
41  genera  and  521  species,  inhabiting  the  warmer  regions  of  the  world. 
None  of  them  grow  naturally  in  our  climate  or  in  Europe,  and,  except- 


ing the  little  yellow-flowered  Mahernia,  they  are  very  seldom  seen  in 
our  conservatories. 

The  first  references  to  the  tree  and  its  products  are  found  in  the 
accounts  of  the  explorers  and  conquerors  who  followed  Columbus. 
Their  descriptions  are  remarkably  accurate  in  all  essential  particulars. 
One  of  the  earliest,  if  not  indeed  the  very  earliest,  delineations  of  the 
tree  is  in  a  rare  volume  by  Bontekoe.1  The  engraving,  which  is  here 

1  The  figure  in  the  left  of  the  foreground  is  said  by  Bontekoe  to  represent  the  native  method  of  procuring  fire  by 
rapidly  twirling  a  pointed  stick  in  a  groove  of  a  piece  of  wood  placed  on  the  ground. 


THE  COCOA    TREE  AXD  ITS  FRUIT 


II 


reproduced,  represents  it  with  -its  comparatively  large  fruits  or  pods, 
borne  on  the  main  stem.  This  might  be  thought  at  first  to  be  an  error 
of  the  artist,  but  it  is  in  fact  a  rude  expression  of  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  peculiarities  of  the  plant.  As  will  be  shown  presently, 
when  a  fuller  description  is  given,  the  fruits  are,  as  a  rule,  formed 
on  the  older  parts.  The  engraving  shows  that  the  cocoa  tree  is  shel- 
tered by  a  larger  tree  of  some  other  kind  near  it.  This  practise  of 
planting  a  sheltering  tree  to  shade  the  young  cocoa  tree  for  a  time  is 

still  kept  up  wherever  the  plant  is 
successfully  cultivated.  It  is  cer- 
tainly interesting  that  this  point  in 
cultivation,  which  might  easily  have 
been  thought  to  be  accidental  or 
local,  was  delineated  more  than 
three  centuries  ago. 

The  seeds  of  the  tree  are  borne 
in  pods,  which  are  irregular  and 
angular  in  shape,  much  like  some 
forms  of  cucumbers,  but  more 
pointed  at  the  lower  extremity,  and 
more  distinctly  grooved.  These 
pods  measure  in  length  nine  inches 
tQ_._a_jEpot,  or  even  more,  and  about  half  as  much  in  diameter. 
The  color,  when  young,  is  green,  becoming  later  dark  yellow  or 
yellowish  brown.  The  rind  is  thick  and  tough.  The  pods  are 
tilled  with  closely  packed  "  beans,"  or  seeds,  embedded  in  a 
mass  of  cellular  tissue,  sometimes  of  pleasant  subacid  taste.  The 
seeds  are  about  as  large  as  ordinary  almonds,  whitish  when 
fresh,  and  of  a  disagreeable  bitter  taste.  When  dried  they  become 
brown. 

The  fruits  are  about  four  months  in  ripening ;  but  they  appear  and 
mature  the  whole  year  through.      In  point  of  fact,  however,  there  are 


THE    COCOA    TREE. 


COCOA  AXD  CHOCOLATE. 


chief  harvests,  usually  in  early  spring,  but  this  is  different  for  different 
countries. 

As  a  great  many  erroneous  statements  have  been  made  in  regard  to 
the  average  yield  of  cocoa  plantations,  from  which  we  draw  our  supplies 
of  crude  cocoa,  we  have  been  at  some  pains  to  procure  accurate  infor- 
mation on  that  point  for  a  period  of  five  years. 

Taking  twelve  cocoa  estates  in  Surinam,  containing  1,354  nec~ 
tares,  or  3,385  acres,  the  crop  during  the  years  1897  to  1901 
inclusive  amounted  to  3,672,283  kilos,  or  8,079,023  pounds.  The 
crops  varied  for  the  different  years  from  1,263,426  pounds  to  2,174,639 
pounds.  The  average  yield  per  acre  per  year  was  477^00  pounds. 
On  the  basis  of  200  trees  to  the  acre  this  would  show  an  average  yield 
of  about  2%  pounds  to  a  tree.  By  actual  count  of  seven  pods  taken  with- 
out selection  it  was  found 
that  the  average  number  of 
beans  in  a  pod  was  38. 

In  an  essay  (1902)  on 
the  cultivation  of  cacao, 
for  the  use  of  planters  in 
the  Philippines,  Mr.  Wm. 
S.  Lyon,  in  charge  of 
Seed  and  Plant  Introduc- 
tion, says : 

"  In  Camerouns,  Dr. 
Preuss,  a  close  and  well- 
trained  observer,  gives 
the  mean  annual  yield  of 
trees  of  full  bearing  age 
at  4.4  pounds. 

"  Mr.  Rousselot  places 
the  yield  on  the  French 
Congo  at  the  same  figure. 

COCOA   PODS. 


THE  COCO54  TREE  AND  ITS  FRUIT.  13 

In  the  Caroline  Islands  it  reaches  5  pounds,  and  in  Surinam,  according 
to  M.  Nichols,  the  average  at  maturity  is  6y.2  pounds. l  In  Mindanao, 
I  have  been  told,  but  do  not  vouch  for  the  report,  of  more  than  ten 
'catties'  (about  i2i/>  pounds)  taken  in  one  year  from  a  single  tree; 
/  and,  as  there  are  well-authenticated  instances  of  record,  of  single  trees 


PODS   AND   LEAVES. 

having  yielded  as  much  as  30  pounds,  I  am  not  prepared  to  altogether 
discredit  the  Mindanao  story." 

The  following  statements  in  relation  to  the  cultivation  of  the  cocoa 
tree  and  the  curing  of  the  fruit  are  taken  from  a  report  made  in  1899 
by  the  United  States  Consul  General  at  Guayaquil,  who  obtained  his 
information  largely  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Guayaquil  Chamber 
of  Commerce. 

1  This  statement  does  not  accord  with  the  best  information  we  have  been  able  to  obtain,  namely,  that  the  average 
yield  does  not  exceed  2>i  pounds  to  a  tree. 


1  1 


COCOA  AND  CHOCOLA  TE. 


"  Cacao  is  planted  from  fresh  seed, 
each  hole,  which  are  5  yards  apart,  in 
Formerly  they  were  2  or  3  yards  apart, 
perience  has  shown  that  this  method  does 
not  give  the  plant  sufficient  air,  light,  and 
nourishment. 

"The   preparation  of   land  for  a 
cacao  plantation  consists  in  clearing 
small  trees,  underbrush,  and  weeds, 
the    large    umbrageous   trees.     The 
the  trees  is  planted  in  corn,  arrow- 
the  latter  in  abundance,  with  the 
affording  shade  to  the  delicate 
ducing  an  immediate  income 
until  the  fifth  or  sixth  year, 
reached  a  height  of  8  or 
bear   fruit,   and    enters 
ity.     Then  auxiliary 
ground   is   left 


Four  or  five  are  put  in 


rows, 
but  ex- 


it  of 
but  leaving 
space  between 
root,  or  plantains, 
double  object  of 
cacao  plant  and  pro- 
These  crops  are  grown 
when  the  cacao  has 
9  feet,  commences  to 
upon  a  stage  of  perfect  vital- 
crops  cease  to  be  planted  and  the 
clear,  save  for  the  umbrageous 
trees,  which  gen-  ^R^HOB  erally  stand  at  intervals  of  40  or 
50  yards.  The  Jff^  HHll  trees  usua%  selected  are  the  guabo, 
palo  prieto,  ^H  ^^  ^r  or  guachepeli. 

"In  the    ^^H  first  few  years,  the  plant  is  pruned  occa- 

sionally, ^H  ^m  in  -order  that  it  may  '  run  to  fruit '  more 
quick-  JpjL  ^L^Jy-  Manures  have  never  been  used,  even  where 
the  ^H  ftltYtiM  ground  has  been  cultivated  for  over  a  century, 

and  no  irrigation  is  practised.     The  sediment 
spread  over  the  land    by  the   rains   during  the 
rainy  season  and  the  decaying  vegetation  appear  to 
afford  sufficient  nutriment.     In  some  haciendas,  how- 
ever, the  proprietors  pile  up  leaves  and  other  vegetable 
matter  found    in  the  vicinity  of  the  tree  at  its  foot,  and 


THE  COCOA   TREE  AND  ITS  FRUIT.  15 

also  rub  down  the  bark  with  coarse  cloths  to  destroy  the  adhering 
parasites. 

"The  enemies  of  the  cacao  tree  are  the  ardillas,  the  monkeys, 
many  species  of  small  birds  which  attack  the  pod,  and  various  para- 
sites, all  but  two  of  which  are  as  yet  unclassified.  These  two  are 
the  '  mosquilla'  and  '  mancha.'  Continued  vigilance  protects  the  fruit 
from  the  parrots,  animals,  etc.,  but  little  has  been  done  to  extirpate 
the  parasites  of  the  trunk. 

"  In  the  sixth  or  seventh  year,  the  tree  commences  to  bear,  but  the 
pods  at  this  time  are  very  small  and  scarcely  repay  the  effort  to  gather 
them.  In  the  tenth  year,  the  tree  reaches  full  maturity.  It  then  pro- 
duces on  an  average  i  pound  of  dry  cocoa  of  good  quality.  There 
are  many  trees  which  produce  more,  especially  those  which  are  isolated, 
some  of  which  have  yielded  at  one  picking  as  much  as  7  or  8  pounds. 
In  the  province  of  Oro  (Machala),  iy2  to  2  pounds  per  tree  is  the  esti- 
mated yield.  The  tree  is  in  bloom  during  the  entire  year,  but  most  of 
the  blossoms  fall  before  fructification,  which  occurs  twice  a  year,  the 
time  varying  with  the  locality. 

"The  cacao  tree  grows  to  a  height  of  20  or  30  feet;  its  leaves  are 
evergreen  and  lanceolated  in  form  ;  the  base  of  the  main  trunk  attains 
a  thickness  of  8  to  i.o  inches  ;  the  bark  is  hard  and  of  greenish  coffee 
color.  The  blossom  is  very  small,  pinkish  white,  and  waxlike  in 
appearance.  It  grows  directly  out  of  the  main  trunk  and  branches. 
If  it  fructifies,  the  petals  fall  off,  and  from  the  stamens,  in  the  course 
of  from  fifty  to  seventy  days,  an  oblong  pod  is  developed.  This  pod 
is  of  golden  color,  and  contains  some  twenty  to  thirty-five  grains  of 
cacao,  enveloped  in  a  gummy  liquid,  which  coagulates  on  exposure  to 
air.  The  outer  rind  of  this  pod  is  dark  or  golden  yellow  in  color  and 
-very  hard,  a  sharp  instrument  being  necessary  to  cut  it  open.  Its  size 
varies,  according  to  the  kind  of  cacao,  from  8  to  15  inches  long  by 
from  2  to  6  inches  thick.  The  outer  rind  is  marked  by  longitudinal 
furrows,  more  or  less  pronounced,  which  indicate  the  interior  arrange- 


i6 


COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 


ment  of  the  seeds.  Both  the  outer  rind  and  the  gummy  contents  of 
the  pod  are  porous  and  blacken  in  color  as  soon  as  picked,  and  in 
Ecuador  are  of  use  only  to  fertilize  the  soil  upon  which  they  are  cast. 
"  As  soon  as  the  pods  begin  to  ripen,  they  are  removed  with  pruning 
knives,  very  sharp,  and  attached  to  the  ends  of  long  poles,  which  are 

t    'M   if  f  « i 

' 


f 


"  '  •  ' Jj 

GROl'P  OF   XATIVE   COCOA   PICKERS. 


lengthened  by  joints  as  often  as  required.  As  the  twigs  are  very  tough 
the  blow  with  this  instrument  must  be  strong  and  well  aimed,  and  the 
laborers  must  be  experienced  on  account  of  the  particular  skill  that  is 
required  and  the  fatigue  that  attends  handling  heavy  poles  sometimes 
30  leet  long,  with  the  face  continually  upturned.  Wherever  they  can 


THE  COCOA   TREE  AND  ITS  FRUIT.  17 

be  reached,  the  pods  are  cut  off  with  a  machete.  They  are  heaped  in 
piles  by  one  set  of  laborers,  while  another  cuts  them  open  and  extracts 
the  contents.  A  sharp  pruning  knife  is  used,  and  the  seeds  are  often 
damaged  througli  carelessness.  For  extracting  the  gummy  substance 
and  the  seeds,  an  implement  made  of  a  beef  rib  is  used. 

"  The  drying  is  done  on  open  platforms  made  of  split  bamboo  and 
palms,  where  the  cacao  is  exposed  to  the  sun  during  three  or  four  days, 
and,  in  order  that  it  may  dry  uniformly  and  well,  laborers  are  employed 
to  tread  it  out  with  bare  feet.  If  not  well  dried,  the  bean  is  apt  to 
ferment,  and  if  excessively  dried  it  shrinks  and,  finally,  turns  black. 
The  driers  are  provided  with  covers  for  protection  against  rain." 

The  different  methods  of  fermentation  are  not  described  here.  The 
prime  object  of  the  sweating  or  fermentation  appears  to  be  to  change 
the  inside  portion  of  the  bean  by  absorbing  into  it  products  obtained 
from  the  fermenting  and  decomposing  pulp,  and  where  this  is  not 
accomplished  by  any  of  the  methods,  the  bean  is  classed  as  unfer- 
mented,  and  the  product  is  of  lower  value. 

The  seeds  are  brought  into  the  market  in  their  crude  state,  as 
almond-shaped  "  beans,"  which  differ  in  color  and  somewhat  in  texture. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  the  external  surface  more  or  less  covered 
with  a  thin,  irregular  layer  of  attached  earth,  but  this  is  almost  wholly 
rubbed  off  during  transportation.  Upon  the  color  of  shell  and  kernel, 
the  relative  brittleness,  the  flavor,  and  the  odor  depend  the  market 
value  of  the  seeds. 

The  dried  seeds  have  a  papery,  brittle  shell,  which  is  very  smooth 
on  the  inside,  but  which  on  the  outside  exhibits,  under  the  microscope, 
a  few  short  hairs  and  round  excrescences.  But  these  are  mostly  lost 
by  the  rough  handling  and  by  the  attrition  of  the  seeds  with  one 
another  during  transportation.  The  kernel  consists  of  two  large  cotyle- 
dons or  seed-leaves,  reddish  gray  or  reddish  brown,  with  a  shining, 
oily  surface,  the  whole  crushing  rather  easily  into  a  loose  mass  of 
fragments.  The  kernel,  when  dry,  has  a  minute,  tough,  almost  stony 


1 8  COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 

radicle,  which  separates  easily  from  the  cotyledons.  Microscopic 
examination  shows  that  the  cells  of  the  seed-leaves  contain  albumen, 
oily  matters,  —sometimes  in  a  crystalline  condition,  —  crystals  of  an 

entirely  different  shape,   starch,   coloring  substances  in  special   recep- 

- 


GATHEKIXG'  COCOA  PODS. 


tacles  known  as  pigment  cells,  and  ducts  with  spiral  markings.  The 
starch  grains  do  not  have  any  very  characteristic  form  or  markings ; 
they  are  generally  spherical  and  simple.  The  only  peculiarity  worth 
mentioning  is  the  relative  slowness  with  which  they  are  acted  upon  by 
hot  water  and  by  iodine.  The  coloring  substances  are  mainlv  of  a 


THE  COCOA   TREE  AND  ITS  FRUIT.  19 

% 

carmine  or  violet  color,  and  are  distinguished  by  the  change  of  shade 

when  an  alkali  is  added,  becoming  thereby  darker. 

These  are  the  only  structural  elements  which  a  pure  powder  or  paste 
of  chocolate  should  show  under  the  microscope.  Any  other  substances 
must  be  recognized  as  accidental  or  intentional  additions. 

All  seeds  of  whatever  kind  contain,  as  a  part  of  their  substance,  the 
matter  of  which  cell  walls  are  made,  namely,  cellulose.  The  percent- 
age differs  in  different  seeds,  in  those  of  the  chocolate  plant  being 
about  three  in  the  hundred.  Cellulose  has  the  same  chemical  composi- 
tion as  starch,  but  its  physical  properties  are  not  the  same  as  those  of 
starch;  among  these  may  ife  mentioned  its  entire  insolubility  in  boiling 
water,  whereas  starch  readily  dissolves. 

Starch  forms,  on  an  average,  8  to  10  per  cent,  of  chocolate  seeds. 
It  consists  of  minute  spherical  grains,  not  distinguishable  from  that 
found  in  many  other  kinds  of  seeds.  Traces  of  gum  and  of  other 
allied  bodies  are  alst>  present  in  the  seeds. 

Albuminoids,  or  substances  resembling,  in  a  general  way,  the  albu- 
men of  egg,  occur  in  chocolate  seeds  as  they  do  in  other  seeds,  and  in 
a  somewhat  higher  amount  than  in  certain  other  cases  in  which  seeds 
are  used  as  food.  The  percentage  ranges  from  about  15  to  20,  depend- 
ing on  the  variety.  These  albuminoids  are  compounds  of  nitrogen, 
and  are  extremely  nutritious.  In  the  seeds  they  occur  in  a  readily 
assimilable  form,  fit  for  digestion. 

Cacao  red  occurs  as  a  coloring  matter  in  small  amount.  It  is  ren- 
dered dark  by  alkalies. 

Theobromine,  the  active  principle  of  the  cocoa  bean,  constitutes  less 
than  i  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  seeds,  but  it  varies  greatly  in 
amount  in  different  seeds,  ranging  from  «%oo  of  i  per  cent,  in  some  to 
a  trifle  over  i  per  cent,  in  others. 

The  ash  left,  on  completely  burning  cocoa  beans,  is  not  far  from 
4  per  cent.  Its  composition  is  substantially  that  of  the  ash  of  seeds  of 
other  plants. 


20 


COCOA  AXD  CHOCOLATE. 


Cocoa  butter,  or  oil,  constitutes  not  far  from  50  per  cent,  of  good 
cocoa  beans.  The  oil  is  remarkable  for  its  freedom  from  rancidity 
and  its  very  bland  character.  Its  uses  are  innumerable. 

The  following  averages  of  many  analyses  by  leading  authorities  may 
be  of  interest :  — 


UNROASTED. 

Moisture 7.11 

Oil 51.78 

Theobromine 35 

Starch 5.78 

Cellulose 3.1 

Other  carbohydrates,  glucosides,  etc.  1 0.05 

Protein  matters 15.61 

Ash    .  1.60 


ROASTED. 

Moisture 

Oil 

Theobromine 

Starch    

Cellulose 

Other  carbohydrates,  glucosides,  etc. 

Protein  matters 

Ash    . 


6.51 
49.24 

•43 
10.43 

3-i 

7.78 

18.33 
3-92 


III. 

EARLY  USE  OF  COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 

THE  name  " chocolate  "  is  nearly  the  same  in  most  European  lan- 
guages, and  is  taken  from  the  Mexican  name  of  ihe  drink, 
"  chocolatl,"  or  "  cacahuatl."  Atl  is  common  enough  in  Mexican 
words,  and  is  known  to  signify  water.  What  the  first  part  of  the  word 
means  is  not  so  clear.  A  French  writer  says  it  signifies  noise,  and 
that  the  drink  was  so  named  because  it  was  beaten  to  a  froth  before 
being  drunk. 

The  Spaniards  found  chocolate  in  common  use  among  the  Mexicans 
at  the  time  of  the  invasion  under  Cortez,  in  1519,  and  it  was  introduced 
into  Spain  immediately  after.  The  Mexicans  not  only  used  chocolate 
as  a  staple  article  of  food,  but  they  used  the  seeds  of  the  cacao  tree  as 
a  medium  of  exchange.  An  early  writer  says  :  "In  certain  provinces 
called  Guatimala  and  Soconusco  there  is  growing  a  great  store  of  cacao, 
which  is  a  berry  like  unto  an  almond.  It  is  the  best  merchandise  that 
is  in  all  the  Indies.  The  Indians  make  drink  of  it,  and  in  like  man- 
ner meat  to  eat.  It  goeth  currently  for  money  in  any  market,  or  fair, 
and  may  buy  flesh,  fish,  bread  or  cheese,  or  other  things." 

In  the  "  True  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  by  Bernal  Diaz, 
an  officer  under  Cortez,  it  is  related  that  "  from  time  to  time  a  liquor 
prepared  from  cocoa  and  of  a  stimulating  or  corroborative  quality,  as 
we  are  told,  was  presented  to  Montezuma  in  a  golden  cup.  We  could 
not  at  the  time  see  if  he  drank  it  or  not,  but  I  observed  a  number  of 
jars  —  above  fifty  —  brought  in  and  filled  with  foaming  chocolate." 

Thomas  Gage,  in  his  "  New  Survey  of  the  West  Indies,"  first  pub- 
lished in  1648,  gives  the  following  interesting  account  of  the  Spanish 


EARLY  USE   OF  COCOA   AND    CHOCOLATE. 


and  Indian  ways  of  making  and  drinking  chocolate  some  t\vo  hundred 

and  fifty  years  ago  :  — 

"Now,  for  the  making  or  compounding  of  this  drink,  I   shall  set 

down  here  the  method.     The  cacao  and  the  other  ingredients  must  be 

beaten  in  a  mortar  of  stone,  or  (as  the 
Indians  use)  ground  upon  a  broad  stone, 
which  they  call  Mctate,  and  is  only  made 
for  that  use.  But  first  the  ingredients  are 
all  to  be  dried,  except  the  Achiotte  (an- 
notto),  with  care  that  they  be  beaten  to 
powder,  keeping  them  still  in  stirring  that 
they  be  not  burnt,  or  become  black ;  for 

"  A1C.1  A  1  r,. 

if  they  be  overdried  they  will  be  bitter  and 

lose  their  virtue.  The  cinnamon  and  the  long  red  pepper  are  to  be  first 
beaten  with  the  anniseed,  and  then  the  cacao,  which  must  be  beaten  by 
little  and  little  till  it  be  all  powdered,  and  in  the  beating  it  must  be 
turned  round  that  it  may  mix  the  better.  Every  one  of  these  ingredi- 
ents must  be  beaten  by  itself,  and  then  all  be  put  into  the  vessel  where 
the  cacao  is,  which  you  must  stir  together  with  a  spoon,  and  then  take 
out  that  paste,  and  put  it  into  the  mortar, 
under  which  there  must  be  a  little  fire, 
after  the  confection  is  made  ;  but  if  more 
fire  be  put  under  than  will  only  warm  it, 
then  the  unctuous  part  will  dry  away. 
The  Achiotte  also  must  be  put  in  in  the 
beating,  that  it  may  the  better  take  the 
colour.  All  the  ingredients  must  be 
searced,  save  only  the  cacao,  and  if  from 
the  cacao  the  dry  shell  be  taken,  it  will 
be  the  better.  When  it  is  well  beaten 
and  incorporated  (which  will  be  known  by  the  shortnesse  of  it)  then 
with  a  spoon  (so  in  the  Indias  is  used)  is  taken  up  some  of  the  paste, 


CHOCOLATE-GRINDING    IN   THE 

SEVENTEENTH  CENTURY. 

Prom  an  early  engraving. 


24  COCOA  AXD  CHOCOLATE. 

which  will  be  almost  liquid,  and  made  into  tablets,  or  else  without  a 
spoon  put  into  boxes,  and  when  it  is  cold  it  will  be  hard. 

««  Those  that  make  it  into  tablets  put  a  spoonful  of  the  paste  upon  a 
piece  of  paper  (the  Indians  put  it  upon  the  leaf  of  a  plaintain  tree), 
where,  being  put  into  the  shade  (for  in  the  sun  it  melts  and  dissolves), 
it  grows  hard ;  and  then  bowing  the  paper  or  leaf,  the  tablet  f als  off  by 
reason  of  the  fatnesse  of  the  paste.  But  if  it  be  put  into  anything  of 
earth  or  wood,  it  stickes  fast,  and  will  not  come  off  but  with  scraping  or 
breaking.  The  manner  of  drinking  it  is  divers ;  the  one  (being  the 
way  most  used  in  Mexico)  is  to  take  it  hot  with  Atolle,  dissolving  a 
tablet  in  hot  water,  and  stirring  and  beating  it  in  the  cup,  when  it  is 
to  be  drunk,  with  a  Molinet,  and  when  it  is  well 
stirred  to  a  scumme  or  froth,  then  to  fill  the 
cup  with  hot  Atolle,  and  so  drink  it  sup  by  sup. 
Another  way  is  that  the  chocolate,  being  dis- 
solved with  cold  water  and  stirred  with  the  Moli- 
net, and  the  scumme  being  taken  off  and  put 
into  another  vessel,  the  remainder  be  set  upon 
the  fire,  with  as  much  sugar  as  will  sweeten  it, 
and  when  it  is  warme,  then  to  powre  it  upon 

...  ,  rr    v      f  i  "MOLIXETS." 

the  scumme  which  was  taken  off  before,  and 

so  to  drink  it.  But  the  most  ordinary  way  is  to  warme  the  water  very 
hot,  and  then  to  powre  out  half  the  cup  full  that  you  mean  to  drink ; 
and  to  put  into  it  a  tablet  or  two,  or  as  much  as  will  thicken  reasonably 
the  water,  and  then  grinde  it  well  with  the  Molinet,  and  when  it  is  well 
ground  and  risen  to  a  scumme,  to  fill  the  cup  with  hot  water,  and  so 
drink  it  by  sups  (having  sweetened  it  with  sugar),  and  to  eat  it  with  a 
little  conserve  or  maple  bred,  steeped  into  the  chocolatte. 

"  Besides  these  ways  there  is  another  way  (which  is  much  used 
in  the  Island  of  Santo  Domingo),  which  is  to  put  the  chocolatte  into  a 
pipkin  with  a  little  water,  and  to  let  it  boyle  well  till  it  be  dissolved,  and 
then  to  put  in  sufficient  water  and  sugar  according  to  the  quantity  of 


EARLY  USE  OF  COCOA   AND   CHOCOLATE.  25 

the  chocolatte,  and  then  to  boyle  it  again  untill  there  comes  an  oily 
scumme  upon  it,  and  then  to  drink  it. 

"  There  is  another  way  yet  to  drink  chocolatte,  which  is  cold,  which 
the  Indians  use  at  feasts  to  refresh  themselves,  and  it  is  made  after  this 
manner :  The  chocolatte  (which  is  made  with  none,  or  very  few,  ingre- 
dients) being  dissolved  in  cold  water  with  the  Molinet,  they  take  off 
the  scumme  or  crassy  part,  which  riseth  in  great  quantity,  especially 
when  the  cacao  is  older  and  more  putrefied.  The  scumme  they  lay 
aside  in  a  little  dish  by  itself,  and  then  put  sugar  into  that  part 
from  whence  was  taken  the  scumme,  and  then  powre  it  from  en  high 
into  the  scumme,  and  so  drink  it  cold.  And  this  drink  is  so  cold  that  it 
agreeth  not  with  all  men's  stomachs ;  for  by  experience  it  hath  been 
found  that  it  doth  hurt  by  causing  pains  in  the  stomach,  especially  to 
women. 

"The  third  way  of  taking  it  is  the  most  used,  and  thus  certainly  it 
doth  no  hurt,  neither  know  I  why  it  may  not  be  used  as  well  in  Eng- 
land as  in  other  parts,  both  hot  and  cold  ;  for  where  it  is  so  much  used, 
the  most,  if  not  all,  as  well  in  the  Indias  as  in  Spain,  Italy,  Flanders 
(which  is  a  coldcountrey),  find  that  it  agreeth  well  with  them.  True 
it  is,  it  is  used  more  in  the  Indias  than  in  the  European  parts,  be- 
cause there  the  stomachs  are  more  apt  to  faint  than  here,  and  a  cup  of 
chocolatte  well  confectioned  comforts  and  strengthens  the  stomach. 
For  myself  I  must  say,  I  used  it  twelve  years  constantly,  drinking  one 
cup  in  the  morning,  another  yet  before  dinner  between  nine  or  ten  of 
the  clock ;  another  within  an  hour  or  two  after  dinner,  and  another  be- 
tween four  and  five  in  the  afternoon ;  and  when  I  was  purposed  to  sit 
up  late  to  study,  I  would  take  another  cup  about  seven  or  eight  at  night, 
which  would  keep  me  waking  till  about  midnight.  And  if  by  chance 
I  did  neglect  any  of  these  accustomed  houres,  I  presently  found  my 
stomach  fainty.  And  with  this  custome  I  lived  twelve  years  in  those 
parts  healthy,  without  any  obstructions,  or  oppilations,  not  knowing 
what  either  ague  or  feaver  was." 


26  COCOA  AXD  CHOCOLATE, 

Another  writer  of  the   seventeenth  century  '  describing  the  various 
products  of  the  New  World,  says  :  — 

"  But  much  more  beneficial  is  the  Cacao,  with  which  Fruit  New 
Spain  drives  a  great  Trade  ;  nay,  serves  for  Coin'd  Money.  When 
they  deliver  a  Parcel  of  Cacao,  they  tell  them  by  five,  thirty  and  a 
hundred.  Their  Charity  to  the  Poor  never  exceeds  above  one  Cacao- 
Nut.  The  Trees  on  which  this  Fruit  grows  are  divided  into  four  sorts^ 
differing  in  bigness  and  shape  :  all  of  them  are  very  tender,  for  they 
will  not  only  grow  in  no  place,  but  on  their  usual  Ground,  but  cannot 
endure  the  cold  Nights  Storms,  or  excesses  of  Heat  ;  wherefore  the 
Cacao-Trees  which  grow  out  of  the  Fruit  that  falls  off,  come  to  no 
perfection,  except  in  shady  and  warm  Valleys;  which  is  also  the 
reason  whv  the  Planters  of  New  Spain  plant  the  great  Leafy  Tree 
Cacaoquanthly  (that  is,  The  Mother  of  the  Cacao's)  near  the  Cacao- 
Tree,  that  it  may  the  better  grow  under  the  Shadow  thereof  ;  in  which 
manner  whole  Woods  are  planted  :  In  the  second  year  it  bears  Fruit, 
which  is  first  ripe  in  January,  and  again  in  the  midst  of  Summer. 
Amongst  the  four  sorts  the  chief  est  is  Quathuitl,  of  an  indifferent 
heighth,  and  full  of  sharp-pointed  Leaves,  which  are  fast  to  the  Boughs 
without  Stalks,  and  bears  a  great  Flower  of  a  yellowish  colour,  which 
falling  off,  leaves  long,  tough  and  hairy  Threds  behind  them,  out  of 
which  grows  the  Cacavently,  a  Fruit  which  is  oval,  heavy  like  a  Melon, 
of  a  Saffron-colour,  of  a  fat  and  thick  Juice,  a  bitterish,  yet  pleasant 
taste,  and  very  cooling  ;  being  dry'd  in  the  Sun  it  is  thereby  made  fit 
to  keep  ;  it  is  likewise  highly  esteem'd,  because  the  Chocolate  is  made 
of  the  same.  Before  the  Spaniards  made  themselves  Masters  of 
Mexico,  no  other  Drink  was  esteem'd  but  that  of  the  Cacao;  none 
caring  for  Wine,  notwithstanding  the  Soil  produces  Vines  every  where 
in  great  abundance  of  it  self.  But  besides  the  Quathuitl,  New  Spain 
hath  three  other  sorts  of  Cacao-Trees,  viz.  Mecanal,  pleasant  to  behold 


r  nT  ,  Latest'and  Most  Accurate  Description  of  the  New  World.     By   Arnoldus   Montanus. 

Collected  by  John  Ogilby,  1671. 


From  stereograph,  copyright,  7906,  by  Underwood  &^  Underwood,  New  \\ 
CACAO  TREE   WITH    I'ODS  4    MONTHS   OLD   GROWING    FROM   TRUNK. 
La  Clementina  hacienda,  Ecuador.     The  scars  on  trunk  show  where  pods  have  grown  in  former  seasons 


2g  COCOA  AXD  CHOCOLATE. 

for  its  heighth,  large  Leaves  and  Fruit;  the  next  is  the  Xochucaual, 
which  is  less  than  the  former;  and  lastly,  the  least  sort,  which  is  call'd 
Halcacahual.  The  Fruit  of  these  four  sorts  of  Trees,  though  differing 
in  shape,  yet  is  all  one  in  power  and  operation." 

M     Ferdinand  Denis,   in   "La   Legencle  du  Cacahuatl,"  makes  the 
ii^fll  ;Vi  to  the  preparation  of  choco- 

cient  Mexico  :  — 

•ouemada. 


GRINDING   ROOM   IN   ONE   OF   WALTER 
BAKER  &  CO.'S   MILLS. 


IWa  n  ,  and 
Thomas  Gage, 
the  conscientious  traveler, 
agree  in  telling  us  that  hot 
chocolate  was  an  invention 
of  the  Castilians.  The  first  of  these  writers,  who  lived  at  the  end 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  says  so  positively ;  in  his  time  it  had  been 
used  for  only  a  few  years. 

"  Would  you  know  now  what  chocolate  was  when  the  learned 
Antonio  Colmenero  de  Ledesma  l  gave  his  receipt  ?  I  copy  it  for  you 
here  :  — 


1  Colmenero  de   Ledesma  (Antonio)    Chocolata    Inda  Opsisculum    de    qualitate   &    Natura   Chocolaea-,    12010 
Nmimbergre,  1644. 


EARLY  USE   OF  COCOA   AND  CHOCOLATE. 


29 


"  '  Take  a  hundred  cacao  kernels,  two  heads  of  Chili  or  long  peppers, 
a  handful  of  anise  or  orjevala,  and  two  of  mesachusil  or  vanilla,  —  or, 
instead,  six  Alexandria  roses,  powdered,  —two  drachms  of  cinnamon, 
a  dozen  almonds,  and  as  many  hazel-nuts,  a  half  pound  of  white  sugar, 
and  annotto  enough  to  color  it,  and  you  have  the  king  of  chocolates.'  " 

The  Spaniards  thus  early  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  fruit  and  of 
the  manner  of  preparing  it,  which  tlu-y  kept  seei%V  for  many  years. 


A    MOLDING    ROOM    IX    WALTER    ISAKRR   &   GO'S    MILLS. 

selling  it  very  profitably  as  "chocollat"  to  the  \vealthy  and  luxurious 
classes  of  Europe. 

Says  Brillat-Savarin,  in  his  famous  "  Physiologic  du  Gout,"  "  Choco- 
late came  over  the  mountains  [from  Spain  to  France]  with  Anne  of 
Austria,  daughter  of  Philip  III.,  and  queen  of  Louis  XIII.  The 
Spanish  monks  also  spread  the  knowledge  of  it  by  the  presents  they 
made  to  their  brothers  in  France.  It  is  well  known  that  Linnaeus 
called  the  fruit  of  the  cocoa  tree  theobroma,  '  food  for  the  gods.'  The 
cause  of  this  emphatic  qualification  has  been  sought,  and  attributed  by 


30  COCOA   AND  CHOCOLATE. 

some  to  the  fact  that  he  was  extravagantly  fond  of  chocolate  :  by  others 
to  his  desire  to  please  his  confessor;  and  by  others  to  his  gallantry,  a 
queen  having  first  introduced  it  into  France. 

"  The  Spanish  ladies  of  the  New  World,  it  is  said,  carried  their  love 
for  chocolate  to  such  a  degree  that,  not  content  with  partaking  of  it 
several  times  a  day,  they  had  it  sometimes  carried  after  them  to  church. 
This  favoring  of  the  senses  often  drew  upon  them  the  censures  of  the 
bishop ;  but  the  Reverend  Father  Escobar,  whose  metaphysics  were  as 

subtle  as  his  morality 
w  a  s  accommodating, 
declared, formally,  that 
a  fast  was  not  broken 
by  chocolate  prepared 
with  water  :  thus  wire- 
drawing, in  favor  of  his 
penitents,  the  ancient 
adage,  ^Liquidum  non 
fra  ngit  jejn  n  in ;;/.'" 
Chocolate  appears 

COOLING   ROOM,   WALTER   BAKER  &  CO's   MILLS. 

to    have    been    highly 

valued  as  a  remedial  agent  by  the  leading  physicians  of  that  day. 
Christoph  Ludwig  Hoffmann  wrote  a  treatise  entitled  "  Potus  Choco- 
late," in  which  he  recommended  it  in  many  diseases,  and  instanced  the 
case  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who,  he  stated,  was  cured  of  general 
atrophy  by  its  use. 

The  earliest  intimation  of  the  introduction  of  cocoa  into  England  is 
found  in  an  announcement  in  the  Public  Advertiser  of  Tuesday,  June 
16,  1657  (more  than  a  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  its  introduction 
into  Spain),  stating  that  "  In  Bishopsgate  Street,  in  Queen's  Head 
Alley,  at  a  Frenchman's  house,  is  an  excellent  West  India  drink,  called 
chocolate,  to  be  sold,  where  you  may  have  it  ready  at  any  time  :  and 
also  unmade,  at  reasonable  rates." 


EARLY  USE  OF  COCOA   AND  CHOCOLATE.  31 

Two  years  later,  in  the  Mcrcurius  Politicus  for  June,  1659,  it  is 
stated  that  "  Chocolate,  an  excellent  West  India  drink,  is  sold  in  Queen's 
Head  Alley,  in  Bishopsgate  Street,  by  a  Frenchman  who  did  formerly 
sell  it  in  Grace  Church  Street  and  Clement's  Churchyard,  being  the 
first  man  who  did  sell  it  in  England  ;  and  its  virtues  are  highly  extolled." 

A  book  written  in  the  time  of  Charles  II.,  entitled  "The  Indian 
Nectar,  or  a  Discourse  Concerning  Chocolate,  etc.,"  says  the  best  kind 
can  be  purchased  of  one  Mortimer,  "  an  honest  though  poor  man,  liv- 
ing in  East  Smithfield,"  for  6s.  8d.  per  pound,  and  commoner  sorts 
for  about  half  that  price. 

About  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  chocolate  had  become 
an  exceedingly  fashionable  beverage,  and  the  cocoa  tree  was  a  favorite 
sign  and  name  for  places  of  public  refreshment.  Cocoa  and  chocolate 
are  frequently  mentioned  in  contemporary  literature  :  and  among  others 
Pope,  in  his  "Rape  of  the  Lock,"  alludes  to  it;  the  negligent  spirit, 
rixed  liked  Ixion,  — 

"  In  fumes  of  burning  chocolate  shall  glow, 
And  tremble  at  the  sea  that  froths  below. 


MILTON   LOWER    MILLS    IN    1822  —  FROM    MODEL.      WALTER    MAKER   &   CO.'S 
MILL  ON   THE   RIGHT. 

Chocolate  was  first  manufactured  in  this  country  in  1765,  in  a  mill  on 
the  Dorchester  side  of  the  Neponset  River,  at  a  point  long  known  as 
Milton  Lower  Mills.  Fifteen  years  later  the  plant  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  Dr.  James  Baker,  and  the  small  beginning  then  made  of  a  new 
industry  has  developed  into  the  world-famous  manufacturing  establish- 
ment known  as  Walter  Baker  &  Co.  Ltd.,  of  which  some  account  is 
given  farther  on. 


3 2  COCOA   AND   CHOCOLATE. 

The  first  notice  of  the  sale  of  cocoa  and  chocolate  in  this  country 
appears  in  the  Boston   Gazette  and   Country  Journal  of  March  12, 

1770,  as  follows:  — 

"TO   BE   SOLD   BY 

JOHN    BAKER 

At  his  Store  in  Back  Street  a  few  Bags  of 
the  best  Cocoa ;  also  choice  Chocolate  by 
the  Hundred  or  Smaller  Quantity." 

The  following  from  the  Essex   Gazette,  of  June  18,  1771,  contains 
the  first  public  notice  of  the  manufacture  of  chocolate  : 

"AMOS   TRASK, 
At  his  House  a  little  below  the  Bell-Tavern  in 

DANVERS, 

Makes  and  sells  CHOCOLATE, 
which  he  will  warrant  to  be  good,  and  takes 
Cocoa  to  grind.  Those  who  may  please  to 
favour  him  with  their  Custom  may  depend 
upon  being  well  served,  and  at  a  very  cheap 
Rate." 

Two  years  later  the  Boston  Gazette  and  Country  Journal  (April  5, 
1773)  contained  the  following  notice  :  — 

"CHOCOLATE 

TO  BE  SOLD  BY  JOSEPH  MANN, 
choice  Chocolate  made  by  himself,  and 
Warranted  pure,  likewise  good  Cocoa 
Shells,  at  his  House  in  Water-Street,  next 
Door  to  Ebenezer  Torrey  Baker,  at  the 
Sign  of  the  Wheat  Sheaff  near  Oliver's 
Dock,  Boston.  —  Also  Cocoa  taken  in  to 
Grind  :  Any  gentlemen  who  will  please  to 
favour  him  with  their  Custom  may  depend 
on  having  it  done  with  Fidelity  and  Dis- 
patch." 


EARLY  CSE  OF  COCOA   AND   CHOCOLATE. 


33 


Crude  cocoa  was  brought  to  the  American  market  at  that  time  by  the 
Massachusetts  traders,  especially  the  Gloucester  fishermen  who  re- 
ceived it  in  exchange  for  the  fish  and  other  articles  which  they  shipped 
to  the  West  Indies  and  Central  and  South  America;  and  the  direct 
connection  with  the  producers,  thus  early  established,  was  maintained 
until  recent  years. 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  manufactures  in  Boston,  in  1794,  J.  L. 
Bishop,  in  his  "  History  of  American  Manufactures,"  says :  "Choco- 
late had  long  been  made  from  the  large  quantities  of  cocoa  obtained 
in  the  West  India  trade,  and  had  been  greatly  expedited  by  recent 
inventions.  The  chocolate  mill  of  Mr.  Welsh,  at  the  North  End, 
could  turn  out  2,500  Ibs.  daily." 


IV. 


A  PERFECT  FOOD. 

BARON   VON    LIEBIG,    one    of    the    best-known    writers    on 
dietetics,  says:  — 
"Chocolate  is  a  perfect  food,  as  wholesome  as  it  is  delicious,  a 
beneficent  restorer  of  exhausted  power;  but  its  quality  must  be  good, 
and  it  must  be  carefully  prepared.     It  is  highly  nourishing  and  easily 
digested,  and  is  fitted  to  repair  wasted  strength,  preserve  health,  and 

prolong  life.  It 
agrees  with  dry  tem- 
peraments and  con- 
valescents ;  with 
mothers  who  nurse 
their  children ;  with 
those  whose  occupa- 
tions oblige  them  to 
undergo  severe  men- 
tal strains;  with 
public  speakers,  and 
with  all  those  who 
give  to  work  a  portion  of  the  time  needed  for  sleep.  It  soothes  both 
stomach  and  brain,  and  for  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  others,  it  is  the 
best  friend  of  those  engaged  in  literary  pursuits." 

Dr.  Edward  Smith,  LL.B.,  F.R.S.,  in  his  valuable  work  on 
"  Foods,"  for  the  International  Scientific  Series,  says  :  — 

"  These  well-known  substances  (cocoa  and  chocolate)  are  valuable 
foods,  since  they  are  not  only  allied  to  tea  and  coffee  as  respiratory  ex- 
citants, but  possess  a  large  quantity  of  fat  and  other  food  materials.  .  .  ." 


STORAGE   OF   COCOA    BEANS. 


INSPECTION'    OF    BEANS, 


A  PERFECT  FOOD.  35 

After  giving  an  analysis  of  the  cocoa  bean,  he  goes  on  to  say  :  "  This 
substance  in  its  action  is  less  exciting  to  the  nervous  system  than  tea  or 
coffee,  and  at  the  same 
time  it  contains  a  much 
larger  proportion  of 
nutritive  material. 
Moreover,  its  flavor  is 
not  lessened  by  the 
addition  of  milk,  so  that  1 
it  can  be  boiled  in  milk 
only,  and  thus  produce  a 
most  agreeable  and  nu- 
tritious food.  There  are,  therefore,  many  persons,  states  of  system,  ai 
circumstances  in  which  its  use  is  to  be  preferred  to  either  tea  or  coffee." 

Brillat-Savarin,  from  whose  work  we  have  already  quoted,  says  time 
and  experience  have  shown  "  that  chocolate,  carefully  prepared,  is  an 
article  of  food  as  wholesome  as  it  is  agreeable ;  that  it  is  nourishing, 
easy  of  digestion,  and  does  not  possess  those  qualities  injurious  to 
beauty  with  which  coffee  has  been  reproached ;  that  it  is  excellently 
adapted  to  persons  who  are  obliged  to  a  great  concentration  of  intellect 
in  the  toils  of  the  pulpit  or  the  bar,  and  especially  to  travelers ;  that  it 
suits  the  most  feeble  stomach ;  that  excellent  effects  have  been  pro- 
duced by  it  in  chronic  complaints,  and  that  it  is  a  last  resource  in  affec- 
tions of  the  pylorus. 

"  Some  persons  complain  of  being  unable  to  digest  chocolate  ;  others, 
on  the  contrary,  pretend  that  it  has  not  sufficient  nourishment,  and  that 
the  effect  disappears  too  soon.  It  is  probable  that  the  former  have 
only  themselves  to  blame,  and  that  the  chocolate  which  they  use  is  of 
bad  quality  or  badly  made  ;  for  good  and  well-made  chocolate  must 
suit  every  stomach  which. retains  the  slightest  digestive  power. 

"  In  regard  to  the  others,  the  remedy  is  an  easy  one:  they  should 
reenforce  their  breakfast  with  a  patS,  a  cutlet,  or  a  kidney ;  moisten 


SSORTIXG   BEAN'S. 


COCOA  A.\'D  CHOCOLATE. 

the  whole  with  a  good 
draught  of  soconusco 
chocolate,  and  thank 
God  for  a  stomach  of 
such  superior  activity. 
"  This  gives  me  an 
opportunity  to  make  an 
observation  whose  ac- 
curacy may  be  de- 
pended upon. 

"After    a    good, 
complete,   and   copious 

,^^^^^__^_  breakfast,   if   we    take 

in  addition  a  cup  of  well-made  chocolate,  digestion  will  be  perfectly 
accomplished  in  three  hours,  and  we  may  dine  whenever  we  like.  Out 
of  zeal  for  science,  and  by  dint  of  eloquence,  I  have  induced  many 
ladies  to  try  this  experiment.  They  all  declared,  in  the  beginning,  that 
it  would  kill  them  ;  but  they  have  all  thriven  on  it,  and  have  not  failed 
to  glorify  their  teacher. 

"The  people  who  make  constant  use  of  chocolate  are  the  ones  who 
enjoy  the  most  steady  health,  and  are  the  least  subject  to  a  multitude  of 
little  ailments  which  destroy  the 
comfort  of  life  ;  their  plumpness  is 
also  more  equal.  These  are  two 
advantages  which  every  one  may 
verify  among  his  own  friends,  and 
wherever  the  practise  is  in  use." 
M.  Boussingault,  a  member  of 
the  French  Institute,  in  an  inter- 
esting paper  printed  in  the  "Au- 
nales  dc  Physique  et  du  Chimie" 
says :  — 

FINAL   PROCESS    OF    SELECTION". 


A  PERI'KL'T  FOOD. 


37 


"Chocolate  contains 
a  very  large  proportion 
of  nutritive  matter  in  a 
small  volume.  In  an 
expedition  to  a  great 
distance,  where  it  is  im- 
peratively necessary  to 
reduce  the  weight  of 
the  rations,  chocolate 
offers  undeniable  ad- 
vantages, as  I  have  had 
frequent  occasions  to  notice.  Humboldt  recalls  what  lias  been  said 
with  reason,  that  in  Africa  rice,  gum,  and  butter  enable  men  to  cross 
the  desert ;  and  he  adds  that,  in  the  New  World,  chocolate  and  corn 
meal  render  the  plateaus  of  the  Andes  and  the  vast,  uninhabited  forests 
accessible  to  man. 

"  In  Central  America,  when  they  organize  a  river  expedition,  or 
traverse  the  forests,  they  prepare  chocolate  for  provision  with  eighty 
parts  of  cocoa  to  twenty  of  coarse  sugar,  the  composition  being  as  fol- 
lows :  — 


Sugar    

Butter 

Albumen 

Phosphates  and  Salts  . 
Other  Matter 


200 

4'° 

IOO 

3° 

, 260 

1,000 

"  Each  man  receives  60  grams  (about  2  ounces)  of  this  chocolate 
per  day,  in  which  there  are  12  grams  of  sugar,  26  of  butter,  and  6 
of  albumen.  It  is  a  useful  addition  to  the  ration  formed  of  beef  slightly 
salted  and  dried  in  the  air,  of  rice,  of  corn  biscuit,  or  of  cassava  muffins. 
"The  infusion  of  tea,  mate  (Paraguay  tea),  and  coffee  are  not,  of 
course,  to  be  considered  as  food.  The  amount  of  solid  matter  in  them 
is  very  slight,  and  their  effects  are  due  only  to  their  alkaloids. 


38  COCOA  A.Yf)  CHOCOLATE. 

"This  is  not  true  of  chocolate,  which  is  at  the  same  time  complete 
food  and  an  active  excitant,  since  it  approaches  in  composition  that 
model  food,  milk.  In  fact  we  have  seen  that  in  cocoa  there  is  legu- 
mine  and  albumen,  associated  with  fat,  sugar  to  sustain  respiratory 
combustion,  phosphates,  which  are  the  basis  of  the  bones,  and — what 
milk  does  not  have  —  theobromine  and  a  delicate  aroma.  Roasted, 


WRAPPING   ROOM,    BAKER'S    CHOCOLATE. 

ground,  and  mixed  with  sugar,  cocoa  becomes  chocolate,  the  nutritive 
properties  of  which  astonished  the  Spanish  soldiers  that  invaded 
Mexico." 

Dr.  Edmund  A.  Parkes,  F.R.S.,  in  his  «  Manual  of  Practical  Hv- 
giene,  prepared  especially  for  use  in  the  Medical  Service  of  the  Army  " 
(London,  1864),  says  : 


A  PERFECT  FOOD. 


39 


"  Although  the  theobromine  of  cocoa  is  now  known  to  be  identical 
with  theine  and  caffeine,  the  composition  of  cocoa  removes  it  widely 
from  tea  and  coffee.  The  quantity  of  fat  varies  even  in  the  same  sort 
of  cocoa.  The  ash  contains  a  large  quantity  of  phosphate  of  potash. 
The  larger  quantity  of  fat  makes  it  a  very  nourishing  article  of  diet, 
and  it  is  therefore  useful  in  weak  states  of  the  system,  and  for  healthy 
men  under  circumstances  of  great  exertion.  It  has  even  been  com- 
pared to  milk.  In  South  America  cocoa  and  maize  cakes  are  used  by 
travelers,  and  the  large  amount  of  agreeable  nourishment  in  small  bulk 


WRAPPING    ROOM,    BAKER'S    BREAKFAST    COCOA. 


enables  several  days'  supplies  to  be  easily  carried.  By  roasting,  the 
starch  is  changed  into  dextrine,  the  amount  of  margaric  acid  increases, 
and  an  empyrematic  aromatic  substance  is  formed." 

Francois  Joseph  Victor  Broussais,  a  celebrated  physician  and  mem- 
ber of  the  French  Institute,  says  :  — 

"  Chocolate  of  good  quality,  well  made,  properly  cooked,  is  one  of 
the  best  aliments  that  I  have  yet  found  for  my  patients  and  for  myself. 
This  delicious  food  calms  the  fever,  nourishes  adequately  the  patient, 
and  tends  to  restore  him  to  health.  I  would  even  add  that  I  attribute 
many  cures  of  chronic  dyspepsia  to  the  regular  use  of  chocolate." 


4o 


COCOA  AND  CHOC  OLA  TE. 


Christoph  Wilhelm  Hufeland,  the  distinguished  German  physician, 

says : — 

»I  recommend  good  chocolate  to  nervous,  excitable  persons;  a 
to  the  weak,  debilitated,  and  infirm ;  to  children  and  women.     I  have 
obtained  excellent  results  from  it  in  many  cases  of  chronic  diseases  of 
the  digestive  organs." 

Dr.  Karl  Ernest  Bock,  of  Leipsic,  author  of  a  "Traitt  de  Pathologic 
et  de  Diagnostic,"  says  :  - 

"  The  nervousness  and  peevishness  of  our  times  are  chiefly  attribu- 

f table  to  tea  and  coffee; 

the  digestive  organs  of 
confirmed  coffee  drink- 
ers are  in  a  r  state  of 
chronic  derangement, 
which  reacts  upon  the 
brain,  producing  fretful 
and  lachrymose  moods. 
Cocoa  and  chocolate  are 
neutral  in  their  physical 
effects,  and  are  really  the 
most  harmless  of  our 
fashionable  drinks." 
Jean  Baptiste  Alphonse  Chevalier,  in  his  treatise  on  chocolate, 
says : — 

"Cocoa  and  chocolate  are  a  complete  food;  coffee  and  tea  are  not 
food.  Cocoa  gives  one  third  its  weight  in  starch  and  one  half  in  cocoa 
butter ;  and,  converted  into  chocolate  by  the  addition  of  sugar,  it  real- 
izes the  idea  of  a  complete  aliment,  wholesome  and  eminently  hygienic. 
The  shells  of  the  bean  contain  the  same  principles  as  the  kernels,  and 
the  extract,  obtained  by  an  infusion  of  the  shells  in  sweetened  milk, 
forms  a  mixture  at  once  agreeable  to  the  taste  and  an  advantageous, 
substitute  for  tea  and  coffee." 


WRAPPING   ROOM,   BAKER'S   VANILLA   AND 
CARACAS   CHOCOLATES. 


A  PERFECT  FOOD. 


41 


WRAPPING    CONFECTIONER'S    CHOCOLATE. 


Mme.  de  Sevigne,  in  one  of  her  letters  to  her  daughter,  says :  — 

"  I  took  chocolate  night  before  last  to  digest  my  dinner,  in  order  to 
have  a  good  supper.  I 
took  some  yesterday  for 
nourishment,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  fast  until  night. 
What  I  consider  amusing 
about  chocolate  is  that  it 
acts  according  to  the 
wishes  of  the  one  who 
takes  it." 

It  will  be  observed  that 
Brillat-Savarin  corrobo- 
rates this  statement  as  to 
the  value  of  chocolate  as 
an  aid  to  digestion. 

'*  The  cocoa  bean,"  says  M.  Payen,  in  "  DCS  Substances  Alimen- 
taires"  "has  in  its  composition  more  nitrogen  than  wheat  flour,  about 
twenty  times  as  much  fatty  matter,  a  considerable  proportion  of  starch, 
and  an  agreeable  aroma  which  excites  the  appetite.  We  are  entirely 
disposed  to  admit  that  this  substance  contains  a  remarkable  nutritive 
power.  Besides,  direct  experience  has  proved  this  to  be  the  case.  In 
fact,  cocoa,  closely  combined  with  an  equal  or  two  thirds'  weight  of 
sugar,  forming  the  article  well-known  under  the  name  of  chocolate, 
constitutes  a  food,  substantial  in  all  respects,  and  capable  of  sustaining 
the  strength  in  traveling." 

And  a  little  farther  on,  he  adds  :  — 

"  Cocoa  and  chocolate,  in  consequence  of  their  elementary  composi- 
tion, and  of  the  direct  or  indirect  addition  of  sugar  before  their  con- 
sumption, constitute  a  food,  respiratory,  or  capable  of  maintaining 
animal  heat,  by  means  of  the  starch,  sugar,  gum,  and  fatty  matter 
which  they  contain;  they  are  also  articles  of  food  favorable  to  the 


42 


COCOA  AXD  CHOCOLATE. 


maintenance  or  development  of  the  adipose  secretions,  by  reason  of 
the  fatty  matter  (cocoa  butter)  belonging  to  them ;  and,  finally,  they 
assist  in  the  maintenance  and  increase  of  the  tissues  by  means  of  their 
congeneric  azote  substances,  which  assimilate  therewith." 

Etienne  Francois  Geoffrey,  the  distinguished  French  physician  and 
professor  of  medicine  and  pharmacy  in  the  College  of  France,  says,  in 
his  "Traitt  dc  Ma  tier  e  MedicaJe  " :  — 

"The  drinking  of  chocolate,  especially  of  that  made  with  milk,  is 
recommended  to  persons  affected  with  phthisis  or  consumption ;  and, 


WRAPPING    GERMAN    SWEET 


in  fact,  it  supplies  a  juice  which  is  nourishing,  -substantial,  and  smooth, 
which  deadens  the  acrimony  of  the  humors:  provided,  as  we  have  said, 
that  the  cocoa  is  properly  roasted,  and  mixed  with  a  very  small  quantity 
of  spices." 

A  French  officer  who  served  in  the  West  Indies  for  a  period  of  fifteen 
years,  during  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  wrote,  as  the  result  of 
his  personal  observations,  a  treatise  on  "  The  Natural  History  of  Choc- 
olate, Being  a  Distinct  and  Particular  Account  of  the  Cacao  Tree,  Its 
Growth  and  Culture,  and  the  Preparation,  Excellent  Properties,  and 
Medicinal  Virtues  of  Its  Fruit,"  which  received  the  approbation  of  the 


A  PERFECT  FOOD. 


43 


Regent  of  the  Faculty  of  Medicine  at  Paris,  and  which  was  translated 
and  published  in  London,  in  1730.  After  describing  the  different 
methods  of  raising  and  curing  the  fruit  and  preparing  it  for  food  (which 
it  is  not  worth  while  to  reproduce  here,  as  the  methods  have  essentially 
changed  since  that  time),  he  goes  on  to  demonstrate,  as  the  result  of 
actual  experiment,  that  chocolate  is  a  substance  "very  temperate,  very 
nourishing,  and  of  easy  digestion  ;  very  proper  to  repair  the  exhausted 


PACKING   ROOM,    BAKER'S    CHOCOLATE. 

spirits  and  decayed  strength ;   and  very  suitable  to  preserve  the  health 
and  prolong  the  lives  of  old  men.   .    .   . 

"There  lately  died  at  Martinico  a  counselor,  about  a  hundred  years 
old,  who  for  thirty  years  past  lived  on  nothing  but  chocolate  and  bis- 
cuit. He  sometimes,  indeed,  had  a  little  soup  at  dinner,  but  never  any 
fish,  flesh,  or  other  victuals.  He  was,  nevertheless,  so  vigorous  and 
nimble  that  at  fourscore  and  five  he  could  get  on  horseback  without 
stirrups. 


44 


COCOA  AND  CHOCOLA  '/'/•:. 


"  Chocolate  is  not  only  proper  to  prolong  the  life  of  aged  people,  but 
also  of  those  whose  constitution  is  lean  and  dry,  or  weak  and  caco- 
chymical,  or  who  use  violent  exercises,  or  whose  employments  oblige 
them  to  an  intense  application  of  mind,  which  makes  them  very  faintish. 
To  all  these  it  agrees  perfectly  well,  and  becomes  to  them  an  altering 
diet." 

Dr.  Nansen,  the  famous  Arctic  explorer,  in  his  book  entitled  "  The 
First  Crossing  of  Greenland  "  (Vol.  I.,  p.  58),  speaks  of  chocolate  as 
an  important  part  of  the  equipment  for  such  an  undertaking.  "We 
generally,"  he  says,  "  used  chocolate  in  the  morning."  Referring  to 
tea,  coffee,  and  alcoholic  drinks,  he  says:  "Stimulants  of  this  kind, 
with  the  exception  of  chocolate,  which  is  mild  in  its  effect  and  at  the 
same  time  nourishing,  bring  practically  no  nutritive  substance  into  the 
body,  and  the  energy  which  one  obtains  in  anticipation  by  their  use  at 
one  moment  must  be  paid  for  by  a  corresponding  exhaustion  at  the 
next." 


FOUNDERS   OF   THE    HOUSE   OF    WALTER    15AKKR   &   CO.    LTD. 


V. 


* 


THE    HOUSE    OF   WALTER    BAKER   &    CO.    LTD. 

IT  is  stated,  on  what  appears  to  be  good  authority,1  that  the  chocolate 
mill  erected  on  Neponset  River,  in  the  town  of  Dorchester,  Mass., 
in  1765,  was  the  first  mill  of  that  kind  established  in  the  British 
provinces  of  North  America.  It  was  connected  with  a  sawmill,  operated 
by  water-power,  and  was  regarded  as  a  somewhat  doubtful  experiment. 
Its  establishment  was  due  to  the  representations  made  by  John  Hannan, 
an  Irish  immigrant,  who 
had  learned  the  business 
of  chocolate  making  in 
England.  The  new  in- 
dustry prospered  in  a 
small  way,  and  on  the 
death  of  Hannan,  in  1780, 
Dr.  James  Baker  estab- 
lished the  house  which 
has  continued  under  the 
name  of  Baker  without  interruption  from  that  day  to  this. 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  James  Baker  the  business  fell  in  the  order  of 
succession  to  his  son  Edmund  and  his  grandson  Walter.  On  the  death 
of  the  latter  in  1852,  Sidney  Williams,  who  had  been  his  partner  for 
some  years,  continued  in  charge  of  the  affairs  until  he  died  two  years 
later  (1854),  wnen  Henry  L.  Pierce,  a  relative  of  Walter  Baker,  took 
the  management  of  the  business,  first  as  lessee  and  later  as  sole  owner. 
During  the  forty-two  years  in  which  he  had  control  he  raised  it  from  a 


OLD    STONE   MILL   OF    WALTER    BAKER    &    CO. 
(REBUILT    IN     1849.)         \ 


1  History  of  the  Town  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  1857. 
46 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  &•  CO. 


47 


comparatively    small,    local    concern    to    the    position   of   the    leading 
industrial  enterprise  of  its  kind  on  this  continent. 

In  1895  the  business  was  organized  as  a  corporation  under  the 
general  laws  of  Massachusetts ;  and  in  1898  a  special  charter  was 
granted  by  the  General  Court. 

The  old  stone  mill  which  was  erected  in  1849,  on  the  site  long  occu- 
pied by  the  small  building  shown  in  the  engraving  of  1822,  has  given 
place  to  an  imposing  structure  of  brick  and  stone,  known  as  Mill  No.  5. 
The  plant  now  comprises  six  mills  on  the  Dorchester  and  Milton  sides 
of  the  Neponset  River,  containing  348,480  square  feet  of  floor  space  — 
about  eight  acres. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  on  the  spot  where 
the  industry  was  first  started,  more  than  a  cen-  \ 
tury    and    a  quarter  ago,  the  business  has   con- 
tinued and  attained  the  highest  development. 
From  the  little  wooden  mill, 

"  By  the  rude  bridge  that  arched  the 
flood," 


XEPOXSET   RIVER    FALLS. 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  &>  CO. 


49 


there  has  grown  up  one  of  the  greatest  establishments  in  the  world,  — 
the  house  of  Walter  Baker   &   Co.   Ltd., — an  establishment   which 
competes  successfully  for  prizes  in  all  the  great  industrial  exhibitions 
of  the  world,  whose  influence  is  felt  in  the  great  commercial  centers, 
and  whose  prosperity  promotes  the  welfare  of  men  who  labor  under  a 
tropical  sun  in  the  cultivation  of  one  of  the  choicest  fruits  of  the  earth. 
Before  proceeding  to  describe  the  methods  of  manufacture  used  in 
the  Baker  Mills,  something  should  be  said  on  the  importance  of  select- 
ing only  the  best  raw  materials,  and  of  treating  them  in  the  light  of 
modern  science  and  without  sophistication. 

The  three  associated  beverages,  cacao,  tea,  and  coffee,  are  known 
to  the  French  as  aro- 
matic drinks.  Each  of 
these  has  its  character- 
istic aroma.  The  fra- 
grance and  flavor  are 
so  marked  that  they 
cannot  be  imitated  by 
any  artificial  products, 
although  numerous  at- 
tempts have  been  made 
in  regard  to  all  three. 
Hence,  the  detection 
of  adulteration  is  not  a 
difficult  matter.  De- 
signing persons,  aware  of  the  extreme  difficulty  of  imitating  these  sub- 
stances, have  undertaken  to  employ  lower  grades,  and  by  manipulation 
copy,  as  far  as  may  be,  the  higher  sorts.  Every  one  knows  how 
readily  tea  and  coffee,  for  that  matter,  will  take  up  odors  and  flavors 
from  substances  placed  near  them.  This  is  abundantly  exemplified  in 
the  country  grocery  or  general  store,  where  the  teas  and  coffees  share 


A   HIT   OF   THE   OLD    MILL  — (l 


50  COCOA   AXD   CHOCOLATE. 

in  the  pervasive  fragrance  of  the  cheese  and  kerosene.  But  perhaps 
it  is  not  so  widely  understood  that  some  of  these  very  teas  and  coffees 
had  been  artificially  flavored  or  corrected  before  they  reached  their 
destination  in  this  country. 

Cacao  lends  itself  very  readily  to  such  preliminary  treatment.  In  a 
first-class  article,  the  beans  should  be  of  the  highest  excellence ;  they 
should  be  carefully  grown  on  the  plantation  and  there  prepared  with 
great  skill,  arriving  in  the  factory  in  good  condition.  In  the  factory, 
they  should  simply  receive  the  mechanical  treatment  requisite  to 
develop  their  high  and  attractive  natural  flavor  and  fragrance.  They 
should  be  most  carefully  shelled  after  roasting  and  finely  ground 
without  concealed  additions.  This  is  the  process  in  all  honest 
manufactories  of  the  cacao  products. 

Now,  as  matter  of  fact,  in  the  preparation  of  many  of  the  cacao 
products  on  the  market  a  wholly  different  course  has  been  pursued. 
Beans  of  poor  quality  are  used,  because  of  their  cheapness,  and  in 
some  instances  they-  are  only  imperfectly,  if  at  all,  shelled  before 
grinding.  Chemical  treatment  is  relied  on  to  correct  in  part  the  odor 
and  taste  of  such  inferior  goods,  and  artificial  flavors,  other  than  the 
time-honored  natural  vanilla  and  the  like,  are  added  freely.  The 
detection  of  such  imposition  is  easy  enough  to  the  expert,  but  is  diffi- 
cult to  the  novice  :  therefore  the  public  is  largely  unable  to  discriminate 
between  the  good  and  the  inferior,  and  it  is  perforce  compelled  to  depend 
almost  entirely  on  the  character  and  reputation  of  the  manufacturer. 

Pure  cacao-products  are  characterized  by  extreme  delicacy  of  flavor. 
But  they  possess  another  feature  of  attractiveness,  —  a  beautiful  rich 
red-brown  color  which  is  so  truly  characteristic,  that  its  name, 
"  chocolate,"  has  passed  into  many  languages  as  denoting  this  charm- 
ing shade.  When  the  cacao  product  is  pure,  this  shade  is  not  a  very 
dark  brown,  it  inclines  rather  to  a  dark  red.  When  the  color  of  a 
cacao-product  is  so  dark  as  to  appear  almost  black  it  is  a  sure  sign  that 
it  has  been  tampered  with  in  the  process  of  manufacture  or  else  that 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  &-  CO.  5 1 

the  original  cacao-seed  was  of  poor  quality.  The  uninformed  person 
naturally  thinks  that  the  deeper  shade  means  strength.  This  it  never 
means.  The  black  color  simply  shows  that  the  manufacturer  has  seen 
fit  to  employ  harmful  alkaline  additions  at  some  stage  of  the  process, 
or  perhaps  has  preferred  to  color  his  goods  artificially  with  coal-tar 
dyes  or  with  the  less  injurious  lampblack.  It  may  be  said,  once  for 
all,  that  black  cacao-products  must  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion. 
They  contain  foreign  matters  or  else  they  have  been  maltreated  by 
chemicals  during  manufacture.  Pure  products  of  the  cacao-seed  pre- 
serve their  fine  delicacy  of  flavor  from  start  to  finish  :  black  products 
are  impure.  Discriminating  purchasers  know  this  and  recognize  the 
fine  reddish-brown  as  characteristic  of  a  pure  product,  while  it  is  only 
among  those  who  do  not  give  proper  attention  to  the  matter  that  a 
market  can  be  found  for  the  cacaos  and  chocolates  to  which  alkalies, 
coal-tar  dyes,  or  lampblack  have  given  an  unwholesome  darkness. 

There  are  few  articles  in  common  use  where  so  simple  a  test  for 
purity  exists. 

A  well-known  medical  expert  has  said:  "The  recent  tendency  to 
interfere  with  the  natural  properties  and  constituents  of  such  a  valuable 
food  as  cocoa  is  deeply  to  be  deplored.  The  removal  of  the  fiber  and 
the  excess  of  fat  is  all  that  is  necessary  to  produce  the  most  perfect  food 
beverage  known  to  physiologists,  and  the  best  cocoa  from  the  dietetic 
standpoint  is  undoubtedly  that  which  is  perfectly  pure  without  addition 
of  any  kind  whatsoever.  Some  manufacturers  add  starch  or  sugar  in 
the  mistaken  idea  that  starch  properly  replaces  the  fat  removed.  But 
in  no  case  can  starch  take  the  place  of  fat  in  a  food,  and  the  result  is 
simply  to  lower  the  flesh-forming  qualities  of  the  cocoa  so  treated. 
Starched  cocoa  is  really  a  poor  food,  and  should  be  avoided  by  all  who 
wish  to  get  the  most  nutriment  at  the  lowest  cost  in  the  form  of  pure 
cocoa.  Malted  cocoa,  so  much  in  vogue  lately,  is  merely  a  fad,  and 
has  no  actual  food  value  over  the  plain  article.  The  malt  is  added 
because  it  contains  a  ferment  termed  '  diastase,'  which  has  the  power 


52  COCOA   AND  CHOCOLATE. 

of  converting  starch  into  sugar,  and  if  the  malt  retained  this  power  in 
the  cup  of  cocoa  its  inclusion  could  be  defended.  But  the  diastase  is 
killed  at  175  deg.  Fahr.,  and  therefore  the  digestive  action  of  the  malt 
is  entirely  destroyed  by  the  addition  of  the  boiling  milk  or  water  to  the 
powder  or  paste  in  the  cup.  Inasmuch  as  malt  is  inferior  to  cocoa  in 
actual  food  value,  its  addition  to  cocoa  lowers  the  nutritive  value  of  the 
beverage.  The  use  of  hops  is  also  entirely  useless  as  far  as  practical 


MILL  NO.   4,    WALTER   BAKER  &  CO.   LTD. 

results  are  concerned,  for  if  sufficient  hops  were  used  to  be  of  any 
service  as  a  tonic  to  the  stomach,  the  flavor  of  the  cocoa  would  be  so 
influenced  as  to  make  it  quite  unpalatable,  and  as  the  hops  have  no 
nutritive  value,  the  addition  is  without  beneficial  results.  The  treatment 
of  cocoa  -I'ith  potash  is  to  be  strongly  condemned,  as  the  slightly  increased 
solubility  obtained  is  more  than  counter-balanced  by  the  injurious  effects 


THE  HOUSE   OF  WALTER  BAKER  &>   CO.  53 

of  the  chemical  upon  the  system,  and  those  -u'ho  value  good  health  -.could 
be  well  advised  to  leave  such  cocoas  alone.  Perhaps  the  most  novel 
departure  of  late  years  is  the  addition  of  kola  to  cocoa.  Kola  is  a 
powerful  drug,  and  contains  besides  caffeine  other  potent  nerve  stimu- 
lants of  an  unknown  character.  It  is  impossible  to  defend  on  hygienic 
grounds  the  addition  of  such  a  powerful  drug  to  an  article  of  daily  con- 


THE   TELPHERAGE   SYSTEM  —  FOR   THE   CONVEYANCE   OF   CRUDE   COCOA 
FROM    THK    STOREHOUSES    TO    THE    ROASTING    ROOMS. 

sumption,  and  though  under  medical  advice,  and  in  exceptional  cases, 
the  increase  of  nerve  stimulating  properties  which  kola  confers  on  cocoa 
may  be  beneficial,  yet  to  the  masses  such  uncontrolled  drugging  may 
be  followed  by  serious  consequences.  Pure  cocoa  is  so  rich  in  good 
dietetic  properties  that  to  interfere  with  the  normal  proportions  of  the 
food  principles  is  to  notably  decrease  its  nutritive  value." 

The.  simple    process    by  which    the  natives  of   Central    and  South 
America  prepared  a  nutritious  beverage  from  the  seeds  of  the  cocoa 


54  COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 

tree  has  already  been  described.  We  will  now  refer  briefly  to  the 
modern  method  of  manufacture  as  carried  on  in  the  Walter  Baker  estab- 
lishment, in  which  the  latest  and  most  improved  machinery  and  appli- 
ances are  used  to  improve  the  quality  and  cheapen  the  cost  of  production. 
The  selected  cocoa  beans  are  first  cleaned  from  the  dust  and  attached 
particles  which  have  come  from  various  sources  during  the  fermenta- 
tion of  the  seeds.  The  machines  for  cleaning  the  beans  are  very 
ingenious  and  effective,  removing  from  the  seed  coat  every  trace  of 

foreign  matter. 

The  cleaned  seeds 
are  next  roasted  in  the 
most  careful  manner, 
every  precaution  being 
taken  to  secure  a  uni- 
form effect  through  the 
whole  mass.  During 
the  roasting  the  seeds 
change  color  somewhat 
and  become  more  or 
less  modified  in  taste. 
In  under-roasted  seeds 
the  flavor  is  not  fully 
developed,  while  in 
over-roasted  seeds  the  pleasant  taste  is  likely  to  become  greatly  im- 
paired, or  it  may  even  be  wholly  replaced  by  a  bitter  and  harsh  flavor. 
These  relations  of  color  and  taste  to  the  roasting  of  the  seeds  make 
this  portion  of  the  manufacture  one  of  the  most  delicate  processes  from 
beginning  to  end. 

By  the  roasting  the  shell  becomes  more  readily  detachable,  and  its 
complete  removal  is  the  next  step.  The  crushing  of  the  seeds  into 
small  fragments  is  easily  accomplished ;  and  this  is  followed  by  a 
thorough  winnowing,  by  which  the  lighter  shells  are  carried  away  by 


PRIVATE    OFFICE,    MILL    NO.   4. 


COCOA  A.\D  CHOCOLATE. 


themselves,  leaving  the  clean  fragments  of  the  roasted  seeds  ready  for 
further  manipulation. 

Among  the  fragments  can  be  detected  minute  and  very  tough  bits  of 
tissue.  These  bits  are  the  hardened  germs,  or  rather  portions  of  the 
germs,  and  these  are  separated  from  the  rest  by  an  apparatus  of 
much  simplicity  and  efficiency. 

The  clean  shells  are  usually  placed  at  once  in  packages  for  trans- 
portation. They  are  extensively  used  for  the  domestic  preparation 
of  a  wholesome  and  very  low-priced  drink.  This  beverage  contains 
a  fair  proportion  of  the  active  principle  of  the  chocolate  seeds  them- 
selves, and  the  flavor  is  suggestive  of  chocolate. 

The  cleaned  fragments  constitute  the  so-called  "  cocoa  nibs"  of  some 
foreign  markets,  and  in  this  state  they  are  used  for  the  preparation  of 
a  simple  decoction.  But  in  this  form  they  require  to  be  boiled  a  good 
while  for  the  development  of  flavor,  and  it  is,  therefore,  better  to  have 
them  treated  beforehand  in  order  to  reduce  the  time  of  boiling  ;  and  this 
is  all  the  more  necessary,  since 
during  the  long  boiling  a  part  of 
the  more  delicate  aroma  peculiar 
to  chocolate  seeds  is  apt  to  be 
lissipated. 


JINE  AND 

t    ROOM. 
(One  of  the  new  engines  shown 
on  page  71  ) 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  6-  CO. 


57 


In  the  preparation  of  chocolate,  the  fragments  are  ground  bv  a  com- 
plicated mechanism  until  they  attain  the  greatest  degree  of  fineness, 
and  constitute  a  perfectly  homogeneous  mass  or  paste.  If  it  is  to  be 
a  plain  chocolate  (which  is  put  up  in  a  blue  wrapper  with  a  vellow 
label  and  known  as  "  Baker's  Chocolate"  or  "  Premium  No.  i  Choco- 
late"), it  goes  directly  into  the  molds  for  shaping  it. 

The  molding  is  a  noisy  but   interesting  operation.     The  chocolate 


cannot  be  pressed  into  molds,  because  it  sticks  to  the  presser ;  it  is, 
therefore,  shaken  in.  A  plastic  lump  of  the  proper  weight  is  placed 
in  a  shallow  mold.  A  number  of  these  molds  are  put  into  a  wooden 
tray,  placed  upon  a  table,  which  is  shaken  automatically,  causing  the 
metal  molds  to  jump  up  and  down  in  a  very  lively  manner,  and  making 
as  much  clatter  as  a  regiment  of  cavalry  crossing  a  bridge.  Every 
step  of  the  process  has  to  be  watched  with  the  most  assiduous  care. 
When  the  plastic  mass  has  been  shaken  into  the  mold  so  as  to  be  per- 
fectly uniform  in  shape  and  size,  the  pans  are  removed  to  the  cooling 


58  COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE. 

If  the  chocolate  is  to  be  sweetened,  a  definite  amount  of  the  purest 
sugar,  previously  pulverized,  is  added  before  the  molding,  and  the 
whole  ground  and  commingled.  If  it  is  to  be  a  vanilla  chocolate,  the 
finest  quality  of  Mexican  vanilla  beans  (which  are  superior  to  those 
grown  elsewhere)  are  blended  with  the  semi-fluid  mass,  and  formed 
in  molds,  as  already  described. 

The  variations  in  the  process  are  innumerable,  many  of  them  com- 
paratively unimportant  when  taken  singly;  but  to  secure  the  best 


WALTER   15AKER   &  CO.'S   TEAMS. 

results  it  is  important  that  each  of  these  slight  changes  should  be  made 
at  just  the  right  time  and  in  the  right  way. 

The  manufacture  of  breakfast  cocoa  is  based  upon  two  important 
factors :  first,  the  removal  of  a  definite  portion  of  the  cocoa-oil  from 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  &-  CO. 


59 


the  roasted  seeds ;  and  second,  increasing  the  miscibility  of  the  pow- 
dered seeds  by  securing  the  greatest  practicable  degree  of  fineness. 

While  the  oil  of  the  chocolate  seed  is  perfectly  wholesome,  there  are 
some  persons  who  find  in  the  percentage  natural  to  the  seeds  an  amount 
too  large  for  easy  digestion.  The  removal  of  a  part  of  this,  which 
might  with  propriety  be  called  an  excess  of  the  oil,  was  practised  even 
in  very  early  days,  as  is  seen  in  the  cut  herewith  given,  taken  from  an 
old  work  on  the  subject. 

The  method  of  manufacture  is  substantially  as  follows  :  the  ground 
fragments  of  roasted  seeds  are  subjected  to  hydraulic  pressure,  by 
which  a  certain  amount  of  the  fat  is  eliminated. 
The  pressed  mass  is,  in  the  most  successful 
process,  treated  mechanically  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  divide  and  subdivide  the  minute 
particles  until  they  are  capable  of  passing 
through  a  sieve  having  several  thousand 
meshes  to  the  square  inch.  But  such  pulver- 
ization as  this  would,  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances, reduce  the  mass  to  a  dull  and  unat- 
tractive powder.  In  the  process  devised  by 
the  Walter  Baker  Company,  this  high  degree 
of  fineness  is  secured  without  any  loss  of 
brilliancy  in  the  powder, — the  color  being 
of  the  bright  red  which  is  not  only  attractive  in  appearance,  but  when 
conjoined  with  the  natural  chocolate  odor  and  flavor  is  characteristic 
of  absolutely  pure  cocoa  of  the  highest  grade. 

It  is  instructive  to  compare  such  cocoa  with  the  cocoas  prepared 
by  what  is  known  as  the  Dutch  process.  The  latter  are  prepared 
by  treatment  with  alkaline  matters,  which  act  on  the  coloring  sub- 
stances in  the  seeds,  increasing  the  apparent  effect  of  hot  water  when 
the  latter  is  added.  In  chemically  prepared  cocoas,  the  exquisite 
natural  odor  and  flavor  of  pure  cocoa  seeds  have  been  diminished 


OLD    PRESS   FOR   REMOV- 
ING  EXCESS   OF   OIL. 


6o  COCOA   AND  CHOCOLATE. 

or  wholly  lost  by  the  severe  treatment  to  which  the  materials  have  been 
subjected.  In  some  cases  the  loss  of  the  natural  flavor  is  sought  to 
be  partially  supplied  by  the  use  of  fragrant  gums,  and  other  matters 
wholly  foreign  to  the  natural  product. 

The  detection  of  these  admixtures  is  generally  easy.     Comparison 


EXECUTIVE   OFFICES,   45    BROAD    STREET,    HOSTOX. 

with  Baker's  Breakfast  Cocoa  will  reveal  at  once  the  vast  superiority  of 
a  product  which  has  not  been  treated  by  chemicals,  but  which  contains 
only  the  finest  possible  powder  of  the  best  chocolate  seeds  freed  from 
the  excess  of  oil.  The  exquisite  flavor  and  odor  of  the  pure  product 
are  due  wholly  to  the  seeds  themselves,  since  absolutely  no  foreign 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  5-  CO.  6 1 

matter  is  added  from  first  to  last.  It  can  be  used  by  students  of  the 
microscope  and  of  chemistry  as  a  perfect  type  of  the  highest  order  of 
excellence  in  manufacture. 

Dr.  H.  C.  Sawyer,  in  his  valuable  little  book  on  "Nerve  Waste," 
says : — 

"Baker's  Breakfast  Cocoa  is  a  light  preparation  which  can  be 
heartily  recommended ;  it  contains  only  so  much  fat  as  can  be  digested 


GROUP   OF   DEMONSTRATORS,    WALTER    RAKER   &   CO.    LTD. 

by  almost  any  one,  and  is  peculiar  in  not  cloying  or  palling  after  a 
time  as  so  many  cocoa  preparations  do.  Such  a  beverage  is  far  more 
wholesome,  and  more  agreeable,  after  one  becomes  used  to  it,  than 
tea,  which  is  much  over-used." 

A  recent  article  in  the  New  York  Poly  clinic  says  :  — 
"  It  is  not  infrequent  that  chemists  and  physicians  differ  in  opinion 
as  regards  the  use  of  certain  food  products  and  their  influence  upon 
tissue  metabolism  ;    but  for  many  years  they  have  agreed  that  cocoa 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  6-  CO.  63 

(theobroma  cacao)  exerts  an  influence  upon  the  human  system  that  is 
equaled  by  no  other  vegetable  product.  Careful  analysis,  combined 
with  extensive  clinical  experience,  has  shown  beyond  shadow  of  doubt 
that  it  retards  retrograde  metamorphosis  of  the  body  tissues  (tissue 
waste),  is  far  more  nutritious  and  less  directly  stimulating  to  the  ner- 
vous system  than  either  tea  or  coffee,  and  when  the  excess  of  oil  (oleum 


PRESIDENTS   OFFICE,    HOSTON. 


theobroma)  has  been  removed,  exerts  a  distinctive  beneficial  influence 
upon  the  digestive  functions.  Such  being  the  case,  the  use  of  a 
thoroughly  reliable  preparation  of  cocoa  should  be  universally  en- 
couraged, and  it  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  among  medical  men  as 
well  as  laboratory  workers  that  the  breakfast  cocoa  manufactured  by 


64  COCOA  AND  CHOCOLA  TE. 

Walter  Baker  &  Co.  Ltd.,  not  only  meets  the  indications,  but  accom- 
plishes even  more  than  is  claimed  for  it." 

The  Dietetic  and  Hygienic  Gazette  says  :  — 

"Walter.  Baker  &  Co.,  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A.,  have  given 
years  of  study  to  the  skilful  preparation  of  cocoa  and  chocolate,  and 
have  devised  machinery  and  systems  peculiar  to  their  methods  of  treat- 
ment, whereby  the  purity,  palatability,  and  highest  nutrient  character- 
istics  are  retained.     Their  preparations  are  known  the 
world  over  and  have  received  the  highest  indorsements 
from  the  medical  practitioner,  the  nurse, 
and    the     intelligent     housekeeper    and 
caterer.     There  is  hardly  any  food  prod- 
uct which  may  be  so  extensively  used  in 
the  household  in  combination  with  other 
foods  as  cocoa  and  chocolate ;    but  here 
again  we  urge  the  importance  of  purity 
and  nutrient  value,  and  these  important 
points,  we  feel  sure,  may  be  relied  upon 
OFFICE  BUILDING,  DORCHESTER.      iiv  Baker's  cocoa  and  chocolate." 

The  Dominion  Medical  Monthly,  Toronto,  Canada,  says  :  — 
"There  are  on  the  market  to-day  a  large  number  of  so-called  co- 
coas, all  of  them  'guaranteed'  to  be  'absolutely  pure,'  but  many  of 
them  adulterated.  There  are  few  articles  which  physicians  find  as 
much  use  for  as  this  preparation  of  the  cacao  nut,  and  one  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  medical  men  have  to  overcome  is  to  choose  the  pure  from 
the  impure,  choosing  the  former  and  discarding  the  latter.  Many  per- 
sons declare  firmly  that  they  cannot  digest  cocoa,  this  being  due  to  a 
certain  degree  of  oiliness  present.  Pure  cocoa  acts  as  a  gentle  stimu- 
lant, and  invigorates  and  corrects  the  action  of  the  digestive  organs, 
furnishing  the  body  with  some  of  the  purest  elements  of  nutrition.  The 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  6-   CO.  65 

firm  of  Walter  Baker  &  Co.  Ltd.,  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  put  up  one 
of  the  few  really  pure  cocoas,  and  physicians  are  quite  safe  in  specify- 
ing their  brand." 

The  American  ffomceopat/iist  says  :  — 

"The  need  of  a  substitute  for  coffee  in  manv  nervous  disorders,  and 


BRANCH   HOUSE   OF   WALTER   BAKER  &  CO.    LTD. 
FRANKLIN    AND    HUDSON    STREETS,    NEW    YORK. 

particularly  where  there  are  heart  complications,  has  induced  me  to 
give  special  recognition  to  the  cocoa  preparations,  for  all  are  not  of 
equal  merit.  The  essentials  of  a  proper  production  are  found  in  the 
well-known  cocoa  made  by  Walter  Baker  &  Co.,  of  Dorchester,  Mass., 
and  in  one  or  two  others,  but  I  give  preference  to  the  one  named,  be- 
cause it  is  always  and  everywhere  obtainable  and  is  of  uniform  quality. 


66 


COCOA  AND  CHOCOLATE 


Its  usefulness  is  not,  however,  restricted.     In  many  cases  of  deficient 
nutrition,  it  may  be  well  prescribed  as  a  food-drink  with  every  meal." 

The  Maryland  Medical  Journal  says  :  — 

"  Physicians  have  long  recognized  the  valuable  dietary  properties  of 
cocoa.     When  obtained  free  from  any  admixture  of  foreign  matter,  its 


BRANCH    HOl'SF,   OF   WALTER    BAKER   &   CO.,    38   AND   40   LAKE   STREET,   CHICAGO. 

nutritive  value  cannot  be  overestimated,  combining  as  it  does  in  proper 
proportion  the  essentials  of  a  perfect  food  —  carbohydrates,  albumi- 
noids, mineral  matters,  and  the  active  principle,  theobromine.  The 
physiological  effects  of  cocoa  in  certain  constitutional  derangements 
are  well  known  to  practitioners  in  general,  and  when  no  violence  is 
done  to  the  chemical  properties  of  the  different  components  in  the 
process  of  preparation  a  product  at  once  comforting  and  nutritious  is 


THE  HOUSE  OF  WALTER  BAKER  &•  CO.  67 

obtained.  The  wholesomeness  and  efficiency  of  the  Walter  Baker  &  Co.'s 
Cocoa  is  due  to  a  peculiar  process  in  its  manufacture,  which  preserves 
the  theobromine  and  nutritive  portion  without  the  use  of  chemicals,  and 
has  more  than  three  times  the  strength  of  other  preparations  mixed  with 
starch,  arrowroot,  or  sugar.  The  long-standing  reliability  of  this  brand 
of  cocoa  enables  physicians  to  prescribe  it  with  thorough  confidence  in 
its  highly  valuable  nutritive  effects  and  full  assurance  of  its  purity  and 
wholesomeness." 

The  Health  Magazine  says  :  — 

"  A  very  large  class  of  intelligent  and  right-thinking  people  through- 
out the  world  are  ready  to  testify  to  the  nutritive  properties  of 
Walter  Baker  &  Co  's  Breakfast  Cocoa.  The  food  value  of  this  article 
has  so  long  been  known  to  physicians  and  the  public  that  it  has  become 
in  a  great  many  homes  a  staple  article  of  the  dietary,  not  only  for  in- 
valids, but  for  persons  in  health  as  well." 


A  DETAIL   OF  THE  TELPHERAGE   SYSTEM. 


SUGGESTIONS 

RELATIVE    TO 

THE  COOKING  OF  CHOCOLATE  AND  COCOA. 

BY  MRS.  EI.LEX   II.  RICHARDS, 
Of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of  Technology. 

THE  flavor  of  the  cocoa  bean  seems  to  be  almost  universally  liked, 
and  the  use  of  the  various  preparations  made  from  it  is  con- 
stantly increasing.  From  the  sweet  chocolate  with  which  the 
traveler  now  provides  himself  in  all  journeys  in  which  the  supply  of 
food  is  doubtful  either  in  quantity  or  quality,  to  delicate  coloring  and 
flavoring  of  cakes  and  ices,  nearly  all  kinds  of  culinary  preparations 
have  benefited  by  the  abundance  of  this  favorite  substance. 

In  these  forms,  chocolate  is  used  in  a  semi-raw  state,  the  bean  having 
been  simply  roasted  at  a  gentle  heat,  ground  and  mixed  with  sugar, 
which  holds  the  fat.  By  varying  the  quantity  of  the  chocolate  to  be 
mixed  with  the  ingredients  of  the  cake  or  ice,  an  unlimited  variety  of 
flavors  can  be  obtained. 

In  preparing  it  as  a  beverage  for  the  table  a  mistake  has  been  fre- 
quently made  in  considering  chocolate  merely  as  a  flavor,  an  adjunct 
to  the  rest  of  the  meal,  instead  of  giving  it  its  due  prominence  as  a  real 
food,  containing  all  of  the  necessary  nutritive  principles.  A  cup  of 
chocolate  made  with  sugar  and  milk  is  in  itself  a  fair  breakfast. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  preparations  of  the  whole  bean 
which  secure  all  of  the  valuable  nutrition  contained  in  this  "  food  for 
the  gods,"  and  rightly  understood,  it  is  possible  to  make  them  more 
important  articles  of  diet  than  they  now  are.  But  since  the  large  per- 
centage of  fat  seems  to  require  correspondingly  large  quantities  of 


SUGGESTIONS. 


69 


sugar  to  render  the  beverage  palatable,  and  this  very  rich,  sweet  drink 
soon  cloys  if  made  strong  enough  to  be  nutritious,  it  is,  fortunately, 
possible  to  extract  the  larger  part  of  the  fat  without  injury  to  the  flavor 
so  characteristic  of  chocolate.  In  this  form,  called  cocoa,  less  sugar 
and  more  milk  are  needed,  and  the  resulting  beverage  suits  even 
delicate  stomachs,  and  is  yet  of  high  food  value. 

It  is  the  object  of  all  cooking  to  render  raw  material  more  palatable 
and  more  nutritious,  and  therefore  more  digestible.  The  cooking  of 
cocoa  and  chocolate  is  no  exception  to  this  rule.  Certain  extractive 
principles  are  soluble  only  in  water  which  has  reached  the  boiling 
point;  and  the  starch,  which  the  seed  contains,  is  swollen  only  at  this 
temperature. 

Chocolate  or  cocoa  is  not  properly  cooked  by  having  boiling  water 
poured  over  it.  It  is  true  that  as  the  whole  powder  is  in  suspension 
and  is  swallowed,  its  food  material  can  be  assimilated  as  it  is  when  the 
prepared  chocolate  is  eaten  raw ;  but  in  order  to  bring  out  the  full,  fine 
flavor  and  to  secure  the  most  complete  digestibility,  the  preparation, 
whatever  it  be,  should  be  subjected  to  the  boiling  point  for  a  few 
minutes.  In  this  all  connoisseurs  are  agreed. 


WALTER    BAKER   &    CO.'S    STOREHOUSES,    MILTON. 


NEW   POWER    PLANT,    1906,    WALTER   BAKER    &   CO.    LTO. 


ONE   OF   THE   ENGINES   IX   THE   POWER   HOUSE. 


BAKER'S  BREAKFAST  COCOA, 

In  Yz  Ib.  packages  (tin).     12  packages  in  a  box. 

This  admirable  preparation  is  made  from  selected  cocoa, 
from  which  the  excess   of  oil    has    been    removed.     It    is 
absolutely  pure,  and  it   is   soluble.     It  has  more  than  three 
times  the  strength  of   cocoa  mixed   with  starch,  arrowroot, 
or  sugar,  and  is,  therefore,  far  more  economical,  costing  less 
than  one  cent  a  cup.    It  is  delicious,  nourishing,  strengthen- 
ing, easily  digested,  and  admirably  adapted  for  invalids  as 
well  as  for  persons  in  health. 
No  alkalies  or  other  chemicals  or  dyes  are  used  in  its  preparation. 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


BAKER'S  CHOCOLATE. 

In  Yz  Ib.  cakes,  \  Ib.  packages,  blue  wrapper,  yellow  label. 

It  is  the  pure  product  of  carefully  selected  cocoa  beans,  to  which  nothing  has 
been   added  and  from  which  nothing  has  been  taken  away.     Unequaled   for 


smoothness,  delicacy,  and  natural  flavor.     Celebrated  for  more  than  a  century 
as  a  nutritious,  delicious,  and  flesh-forming  beverage.     The  high  reputation  and 


constantly  increasing  sales  of  this  article  have  led  to  imitations  on  a  very  exten- 
sive scale.  To  distinguish  their  product  from  these  imitations  Walter  Baker  £ 
Co.  Ltd.  have  enclosed  their  pound  packages  in  a  new  envelope  or  case  of  stiff 
paper,  different  from  any  other  package.  The  color  of  the  case  is  the  same 
shade  of  deep  blue  heretofore  used  on  the  Baker  packages,  and  no  change  has 
been  made  in  the  color  (yellow)  and  design  of  the  label.  On  the  outside  of 
the  case,  the  name  of  the  manufacturer  is  prominently  printed  in  white  letters. 
On  the  back  of  every  package  a  colored  lithograph  of  the  trade-mark,  "  La  Belle 
Chocolatiere,"  sometimes  called  the  Chocolate  Girl,  is  printed.  Vigorous  pro- 
ceedings will  be  taken  against  any  one  imitating  the  package. 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


BAKER'S  VANILLA  CHOCOLATE, 

In  }&  Ib.  and  \  Ib.  packages, 

is  guaranteed  to  consist  solely  of  choice  cocoa  and  sugar,  flavored  with  pure 
vanilla  beans.  Particular  care  is  taken  in  its  preparation,  and  a  trial  will  con- 
vince one  that  it  is  really  a  delicious  article  for  eating  or  drinking.  It  is  the 


fl 


best  sweet  chocolate  in  the  market.     Used  at  receptions  and  evening  parties  in 
place  of  tea  or  coffee.     Our  choice  Recipe  book  (sent  free)  contains  a  valuable 
recipe  for  making  the  Chocolate  with  Whipped  Cream. 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 

CARACAS  SWEET  CHOCOLATE, 

In  %  Ib.  packages  and  6  Ib.  boxes. 

Unequaled  for  smoothness,  delicacy,  and  flavor.  The  most 
delicious  and  healthful  article  of  food  that  can  be  carried  by 
golfers,  bicyclists,  tourists  and  students. 

Trade-mark  on  every  package. 

CENTURY  CHOCOLATE. 

In  %  Ib.  packages. 

A  fine  vanilla  chocolate  for  eating  or  drinking.    Put  up  in  very  artistic  wrappers. 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


AUTO  SWEET  CHOCOLATE, 

In  1-6  Ib.  packages. 

A  fine  eating  chocolate,  enclosed  in  an  attractive  wrapper  with  an  embossed 
representation  of  an  automobile  in  colors. 

Trade-mark  on  every  package. 

GERMAN  SWEET  CHOCOLATE. 

In  l/i  and  /i  Ib.  packages. 

is  one  of  the  most  popular  sweet  chocolates  sold  any- 
where. It  is  palatable,  nutritious,  and  healthful,  and 
is  a  great  favorite  with  children. 

Beware  of  imitations.      The  genuine  is  stamped  "  S. 
German,  Dorchester,  Mass." 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


CRACKED  COCOA.  OR  COCOA  NIBS. 

In  '  _•  and  1  Ib.  packages  and  in  6  and  JO  Ib.  bags. 

This  is  the  freshly  roasted  bean  cracked  into  small  pieces.    It  contains  no  ad- 
mixture, and  presents  the  full  flavor  of  the  cocoa  bean  in  all  its  natural  fragrance 
and  purity.     When  properly  prepared,  it  is  one  of  the  most  economical  drinks. 
Dr.  Lankester  says  cocoa  contains  as  much  flesh-forming  matter  as  beef. 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


CACAO  DES  AZTEQUES. 

In  boxes,  6  Ibs.  each ;   '  _•  Ib.  bottles. 

A  compound  formerly  known  as  Racahout  des  Arabes ;  a  most  nutritious  prepa- 
ration ;  indispensable  as  an  article  of  diet  for  children,  convalescents,  ladies, 
and  delicate  or  aged  persons.  It  is  composed  of  the  best  nutritive  and  restor- 
ing substances,  suitable  for  the  most  delicate  system.  It  is  now  a  favorite 
breakfast  beverage  for  ladies  and  young  persons,  to  whom  it  gives  freshness  and 
embonpoint.  It  has  solved  the  problem  of  medicine  by  imparting  something 
which  is  easily  digestible  and  at  the  same  time  free  from  the  exciting  qualities  of 
coffee  and  tea,  thus  making  it  especially  desirable  for  nervous  persons  or  those 
afflicted  with  weak  stomachs. 

It  has  a  very  agreeable  flavor,  is  easily  prepared,  and  has  received  the  com- 
mendation of  eminent  physicians  as  being  the  best  article  known  for  convales- 
cents and  all  persons  desiring  a  light,  digestible,  nourishing,  and  strengthening 

food. 

Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


SOLUBLE  CHOCOLATE. 

This  is  a  preparation  for  the  special  use  of  druggists  and  others  in  making 
hot  or  cold  soda.  It  forms  the  basis  for  a  delicious,  refreshing,  nourishing,  and 
strengthening  drink. 

It  is  perfectly  soluble.  It  is  absolutely  pure.  It  is  easily  made.  It  possesses 
the  full  strength  and  natural  flavor  of  the  cocoa  bean.  No  chemicals  are  used 
in  its  preparation. 

The  directions  for  making  one  gallon  of  syrup  are  as  follows :  — 

8  ounces  soluble  chocolate. 
8*^  pounds  white  sugar. 
2^  quarts  water. 

Thoroughly  dissolve  the  chocolate  in  hot  water,  then  add  the  sugar,  and  heat 
until  the  mixture  boils.  Strain  while  hot.  After  it  has  become  cool,  vanilla 
may  be  added  if  desired. 

The  trade  is  supplied  with  J,  4,  or  10  Ib.  decorated  canisters. 
Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


CHOCOLATES  FOR  CONFECTIONERS'  USE, 

These  chocolates  have  long  been  the  synonym  tot  purity  and  excellence.  To 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  trade,  both  light  and  dark  chocolate  coverings 
have  been  prepared  from  selected  cocoas,  which,  on  account  of  their  uniformity, 
purity,  and  flavor,  are  favorite  brands  with  all  the  leading  confectioners. 


VANILLA  TABLETS. 

These  are  small  pieces  of  chocolate,  made  from  the  finest  nuts,  and  done  up 
in  fancy  foil.  The  packages  are  tied  with  colored  ribbons,  and  are  very  attract- 
ive in  form  and  delicious  in  substance.  They  are  much  used  for  desserts  and 
collations,  and  at  picnics  and  entertainments  for  young  people.  They  are 
strongly  recommended  by  physicians  as  a  healthy  and  nutritious  confection  for 
children. 

Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


COCOA  BUTTER. 

In  '  j  Ib.  cakes. 

One-half  the  weight  of  the  cocoa  bean  consists  of  a  fat  called  "  cocoa  butter," 
from  its  resemblance  to  ordinary  butter.  It  is  considered  of  great  value  as  a 
nutritious,  strengthening  tonic,  being  preferred  to  cod-liver  oil  and  other  nau- 
seous fats  so  often  used  in  pulmonary  complaints.  As  a  soothing  application  to 
chapped  hands  and  lips,  and  all  irritated  surfaces,  cocoa  butter  has  no  equal, 
making  the  skin  remarkably  soft  and  smooth.  Many  who  have  used  it  say  they 
would  not  for  any  consideration  be  without  it.  It  is  almost  a  necessary  article 
for  every  household. 

Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


COCOA  SHELLS. 


In  J  Ib.  packages. 

Cocoa  shells  are  the  thin  outer  covering  of  the  beans.  They  have  a  flavor 
similar  to  but  milder  than  cocoa.  Their  very  low  price  places  them  within  the 
reach  of  all ;  and  as  furnishing  a  pleasant  and  healthy  drink,  they  are  con- 
sidered superior  to  tea  and  coffee. 

Packed  only  in  i  Ib.  papers,  with  our  label  and  name  on  them. 

Trade-mark  on  every  package. 


Forty-eight  highest  awards  have  been  received  from 
international  and  local  expositions  in  Europe  and 
America  during  the  past  fifty-two  years,  of  which  the 
following  are  the  most  noteworthy. 

WORLD'S  FAIR,  St.   Louis  (Grand  Prize  on  all  Cocoa 

and  Chocolate  and  Gold  Medal  on  Installation)  .      .  1904 

DOMINION  OF  CANADA  INDUSTRIAL  EXPOSITION    .      .  1903 

PAN- AMERICAN  EXPOSITION,  Buffalo 1901 

EXPOSITIONS  UNIVERSELLE,  Paris       .     .      1868,  1878,  1900 

TRANS-MISSISSIPPI,  Omaha 1898 

COTTON  STATES    AND    INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION, 

Atlanta l895 

MIDWINTER   AND    INTERNATIONAL   EXPOSITION,  San 

Francisco 1894 

WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION,  Chicago       .     .     .  1893 

INTERNATIONAL  FAIR,  Detroit 1892 

EXPOSITION  PROVINCIALS,  QUEBEC 1891 

MASSACHUSETTS     CHARITABLE      MECHANICS      ASSO- 
CIATION, Boston 1853,  1878,  1890 

WORLD'S    INDUSTRIAL    AND    COTTON    CENTENNIAL, 

New  Orleans 1884 

SOUTHERN  EXPOSITION,  Louisville 1883 

CENTENNIAL  EXPOSITION,  Philadelphia   .....  1876 

INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION,  Vienna J873 

INDUSTRY  OF  ALL  NATIONS,  New  York        .     .     .     .  1853 

FRANKLIN  INSTITUTE,  Philadelphia 1852 


Reduced  facsimile  of  an  attractive  booklet  of  sixty-four  pages, 
with  colored  illustrations,  sent  free  to  any  applicant.     Address 


WALTER  BAKER 


CO.  LTD., 

Dorchester,  Mass. 


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